Washington Initiative 502http://stopthedrugwar.org/taxonomy/term/246/all
enChronicle AM: DC MJ Club Ban Moving, Fed Lawmakers Want MedMJ Allowed for Vets, More... (1/27/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jan/27/chronicle_am_dc_mj_club_ban_movi
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<p>State legislators are getting busy, the DC city council resorts to sneakery to try to kill pot clubs, federal representatives ask the VA to let doctors recommend medical marijuana for veterans, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2016/01/27/arizona-marijuana-advocates-rally-for-legalization/79401290/" target="_blank">Arizonans Rally to Support Legalization Bill</a>. Marijuana reform advocates rallied at the state capitol Wednesday to support a bill that would legalize marijuana. Carrying signs that red &quot;Cannabis Reduces Opiate Overdose&quot; and &quot;Cannabis is a Natural Alternative to Harmful Pharma,&quot; the ralliers urged passage of <a href="https://legiscan.com/AZ/bill/HB2006/2015" target="_blank">House Bill 2006</a>, introduced by Rep. Mark Cardenas (D).</p><p><a href="https://vtdigger.org/2016/01/26/sears-shumlin-push-changes-to-marijuana-legislation" target="_blank">Vermont Legalization Bill Sees Tussles Ahead of Vote Tomorrow</a>. The powerful chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Sears (D-Burlington) has said he won&#39;t vote for his own committee&#39;s legalization bill if it allows for home cultivation, and he&#39;s also asking the committee to make additional changes, including moving some of the tax proceeds to the general fund and increasing penalties for adults who sell pot to minors. The measure is <a href="http://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2016/S.137" target="_blank">Senate Bill 137</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.theweedblog.com/ask-washington-lawmakers-to-support-house-bill-2629-to-legalize-marijuana-cultivation/" target="_blank">Washington State Bill Would Allow Home Cultivation</a>. A bill to allow for home cultivation of up to six plants has been introduced with bipartisan support in the legislature. Washington&#39;s version of legalization does not allow for home cultivation, but <a href="https://legiscan.com/WA/bill/HB2629/2015" target="_blank">House Bill 2629</a> would change that, bringing Washington in line with other legalization states.</p><p><a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2016/01/dc-council-committee-judiciary-permanently-bans-marijuana-consumption-private-clubs" target="_blank">In Sneak Move, DC Council Moves to Ban Pot Social Clubs</a>. With the public notified only moments before markup, the DC Council&#39;s Committee on the Judiciary voted today to permanently ban marijuana consumption in private clubs. A temporary ban was set to expire April 15, and advocates had hoped the Council would let it lapse. The bill approved by the committee bars entities from providing adults with private spaces other than a residence to consume marijuana, and requires the Mayor&#39;s office to revoke a business&#39; license after only one instance of a patron consuming marijuana on the premises.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2016/01/27/lawmakers-push-va-let-doctors-recommend-medical-marijuana/79408380/" target="_blank">Lawmakers Call on VA to Let Doctors Recommend Medical Marijuana</a>. Twenty-one members of Congress have written to VA Secretary Robert McDonald urging him to allow VA doctors to discuss medical marijuana as a possible treatment in states where it is legal. A VA policy that does not allow doctors to recommend it expires at the end of this month, and the lawmakers are calling on McDonald to not extend it. &quot;You are in a position to make this change when the current directive expires at the end of this month,&quot; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Steve Daines (D-MT), and others wrote Wednesday to McDonald. &quot;We ask that you act to ensure that our veterans&#39; access to care is not compromised and that doctors and patients are allowed to have honest discussions about treatment options.&quot;</p><p><strong>Industrial Hemp</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/10a7c2a5d8594f8a9e7e96eab01e8fb5/HI--Industrial-Hemp-Production" target="_blank">Hawaii Industrial Hemp Production Bill Filed</a>. Reps. Kaniela Ing (D-South Maui) and Cynthia Thielen (R-Oahu) have introduced <a href="http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&amp;billnumber=2555&amp;year=2016" target="_blank">House Bill 2555</a>, which would allow for industrial hemp production for research purposes. The bill is backed by the state Department of Agriculture.</p><p><strong>Asset Forfeiture</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.wkow.com/story/31060327/2016/01/26/lawmakers-hear-testimony-on-reforming-criminal-asset-forfeiture" target="_blank">Wisconsin Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Gets Committee Hearing</a>. The Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform Tuesday took up <a href="http://openstates.org/wi/bills/2015%20Regular%20Session/SB521/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 521</a>, which would end civil asset forfeiture in the state. Speaking in support were the Wisconsin ACLU and the Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty; speaking against were -- you guessed it -- representatives of law enforcement. No vote was taken.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://augustafreepress.com/republicans-join-democrats-in-killing-bills-requiring-drug-testing-for-view-recipients/" target="_blank">Virginia Welfare Drug Testing Bills Killed</a>. The Health, Welfare and Institutions Subcommittee #1 narrowly defeated a combined pair of bills, <a href="https://act.myngp.com/el/-5593199703755847936/-7397011295774439680?161+sum+HB468" target="_blank">House Bill 468</a> and <a href="https://act.myngp.com/el/-5593199703755847936/-7397011295774439680?161+sum+HB86" target="_blank">House Bill 86</a>, that would have required welfare applicants to undergo drug tests before receiving benefits. &quot;VIEW recipients are no more likely statistically to be drug users than any other group and to target them would be unfair,&quot; Del. Marcia Price (D-Newport News) said. &quot;I am proud to have agreed with my colleagues across the aisle that there was a lack of evidence to warrant this practice. We would be better served, instead of this practice, to continue to invest money into the tangible obstacles to employment. Rightly, partisan politics did not stand in the way of doing what is right for our Commonwealth.&quot;</p><p><strong>Sentencing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.pressherald.com/2016/01/25/lawmakers-consider-tougher-penalties-for-bringing-heroin-into-maine/" target="_blank">Maine Bill to More Harshly Punish Outsiders Bringing Drugs to State Gets Hearing</a>. The legislature&#39;s Criminal Justice Committee heard conflicting testimony Monday on <a href="http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_127th/billtexts/SP060201.asp" target="_blank">LD 1541</a>, which creates the crime of &quot;aggravated importation of scheduled drugs.&quot; The bill doesn&#39;t specify, but the measure is clearly aimed at heroin traffickers bringing the drug into the state. Not everyone was gung-ho, though: Tougher sentences are &quot;just not the most effective tool against this scourge,&quot; said John Pelletier, a member of the Maine Criminal Advisory Commission. The measure would double prison sentences for importing heroin into the state from five to 10 years, and up to 30 years in some cases.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.latinone.com/articles/31474/20160127/marijuana-legalization-open-debate-mexico.htm" target="_blank">Mexico&#39;s National Marijuana Legalization Debate is Underway</a>. Lawmakers met in Cancun Tuesday to open the first batch of debates on marijuana legalization. President Enrique Pena Nieto is opposed, but called for national debate after court rulings appeared to open cracks in the country&#39;s prohibition.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jan/27/chronicle_am_dc_mj_club_ban_movi#commentsAsset ForfeitureCongressDrug TestingHeroinMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefSentencingState & Local LegislaturesWashington Initiative 502WelfareWed, 27 Jan 2016 22:56:04 +0000psmith31798 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: First DE Dispensary Opens, OR Pot Legalization Starts Wednesday, More (6/29/15)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jun/29/chronicle_am_first_de_dispensary
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<p>Marijuana becomes legal in Oregon this week (except for sales), Washington&#39;s legislature moves to modify pot legalization there, Delaware becomes the latest state to see dispensaries arrive, the policy folks at Rice University&#39;s Baker Center have a new drug policy report out, and more.&nbsp;</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2015/06/28/rand-paul-to-raise-money-with-marijuana-industry-in-denver/121575/" target="_blank">Rand Paul to Fundraise at Marijuana Industry Event in Denver Tomorrow</a>. The Kentucky Republican junior senator will become the first presidential candidate ever to seek funds from the marijuana industry when he appears at the Cannabis Business Summit in Denver tomorrow.</p><p><a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2015/06/july-1-possession-and-home-cultivation-marijuana-becomes-legal-oregon-adults" target="_blank">Oregon Legalization Goes Into Effect Wednesday, But No Sales Yet</a>.&nbsp;Beginning July 1, adults 21 and older will be able to legally possess up to 8 ounces of marijuana in their home and up to 1 ounce of marijuana outside their home. Adults may also grow up to four plants as long as they are out of public view. The regulatory structure allowing for commercial retail sales is still in the works and will not be implemented until next year--or, at best, later this year.</p><p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/26/forget-almonds-look-at-how-much-water-californias-pot-growers-use/" target="_blank">Washington House Passes Legalization Changes</a>. Last Friday, the House approved <a href="http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2015&amp;bill=2136" target="_blank">House Bill 2136</a>, which changes several features of the state&#39;s voter-approved legalization scheme. The bill replaces the three-tier tax structure with a single 37% retail excise tax. It was also amended last Friday to eliminate language that would have required a vote of residents before towns or counties could ban licensed pot businesses. The bill now moves to the state Senate.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150629_Delaware_s_first_marijiana_dispensary_opens.html" target="_blank">Delaware&#39;s First Dispensary is Open for Business</a>. The First State Compassion Center opened last Friday in a Wilmington industrial park. This is nearly four years after the legislature approved them, but the process was stalled when Gov. Jack Markell (D) backed away in the face of federal threats. Finally, Delaware&#39;s patients have a legal place to obtain their medicine.</p><p><strong>Drug Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/503004.html" target="_blank">Baker Institute Report on Drug Policy Calls for New Paradigm</a>. The policy experts at Rice University&#39;s Baker Institute for Public Policy are calling for a new paradigm in drug policy&mdash;one that doesn&#39;t rely almost exclusively on punishment. &quot;The core strategies of the US war on drugs are eradication, interdiction and incarceration,&rdquo; said William Martin, the institute&rsquo;s director of drug policy studies. &quot;After a 40-year and trillion-dollar effort, illicit drugs remain available to meet a remarkably stable demand,&rdquo; Martin said. The report is <em><a href="http://bakerinstitute.org/research/rx-us-drug-policy-new-paradigm/" target="_blank">Rx for a US Drug Policy: A New Paradigm</a></em>.</p><p><strong>Criminal Justice</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr2944" target="_blank">Federal Bill to Undo &quot;Over-Criminalization&quot; Filed</a>. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and 21 bipartisan cosponsors have filed <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr2944">HR 2944</a> &quot;to improve public safety, accountability, transparency, and respect for federalism in the federal criminal law by applying the findings of the Over-Criminalization Task Force and evidence-based reforms already made in some states&hellip;&quot; It has been assigned to the House Judiciary and House Energy and Commerce Committees.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/peru-nabs-shining-path-logistics-boss-ends-state-of-emergency_1621490.html" target="_blank">Peru Ends 30-Year State of Emergency in Northern Coca-Growing Area</a>. President Ollanta Humala announced last Saturday that the government is lifting a state of emergency imposed on the Alta Huallaga coca growing region. The announcement came the same day the government said it had captured the logistics chief of the Shining Path rebels in the area. States of emergency still exist in other coca-growing areas where the Shining Path remains a presence. At least 69,000 people were killed in the Shining Path insurgency in the 1980s, and the group remains active, although diminished, and active in the coca and cocaine trade.</p><p><a href="http://panampost.com/panam-staff/2015/06/29/uruguay-stands-up-to-un-on-marijuana-legalization/" target="_blank">Uruguay Rejects UN Criticism on Marijuana Legalization</a>. Juan Andres Roballo, head of Uruguay&#39;s National Drug Board, said last Thursday he will present a report to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights defending his country&#39;s decision to regulate marijuana markets. &quot;We won&#39;t go back,&quot; he said. &quot;Uruguay has embarked on a different path. Not only have we made proposals, we have also taken effective, concrete measures in a different sense.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20150628/NEWS/150629711" target="_blank">Bermuda Poll Finds Rising Majority Support for Marijuana Law Reforms</a>. Nearly eight out of 10 Bermudans want marijuana either decriminalized or legalized, up from seven out of 10 last year, according to a new Profiles of Bermuda poll. Almost 40% supported decriminalization number, and another 40% supported outright legalization. The number of people who want pot prohibition on the island to continue dropped from 27% to less than 20%. Click on the link for more poll details.&nbsp;</p>&nbsp;(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org&#39;s lobbying arm, Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.) </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jun/29/chronicle_am_first_de_dispensary#commentsAndean Drug WarCandidates/RacesCocaCongressDecriminalizationMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefPollingPublic OpinionSentencingState & Local LegislaturesWashington Initiative 502Mon, 29 Jun 2015 21:00:01 +0000psmith31526 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgColorado and Washington Help Make the Case for Oregon's Measure 91 [FEATURE]http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/sep/30/colorado_and_washington_help_mak
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<p>As Oregon voters consider <a href="http://media.oregonlive.com/mapes/other/SP-2014-051.pdf" target="_blank_">Measure 91</a>, an initiative on the November ballot that would regulate, legalize and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older, many are looking to how similar laws are affecting Colorado and Washington. Measure 91 supporters Tuesday brought together a panel of experts from those two pioneering states to make the case that marijuana legalization is a winner, with more positives than negatives for states that have taken the step.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]Admittedly, we have not had a lot of time to judge -- Colorado began allowing legal, regulated sales only this January and the first marijuana stores in Washington didn&#39;t open until July -- but early results have been promising.</p><p>In Colorado, the state has already taken in more than $27 million in taxes and fees, with more than $5 million already allocated to building schools. At the same time, violent crime in Denver has declined by 5.2%, even as the state is set to save somewhere between $12 million and $40 million in annual criminal justice system costs, according to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.</p><p>Both a <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/" target="_blank">Drug Policy Alliance</a> <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/colorado-six-month-status-report" target="_blank">six-month status report</a> and a Brookings Center <a href="six-month%20status%20report" target="_blank">report on Colorado&#39;s situation</a> have also found that legalization there is proceeding relatively smoothly, with few bumps.</p><p>In Washington state, the reviews are fewer since retail stores just began operating in July (although Brookings has issued a <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2014/08/25-washington-marijuana-legalization-knowledge-experiment-wallach" target="_blank_">report</a>), but customers bought $3.2 million worth of legal weed that first month, with sales doubling to more than $6.9 million in August. More than another $6 million worth had been sold in the first three weeks of September. Tax revenues from legal marijuana sales are estimated to reach $636 million over the next five years.</p><p>But while Washington retail sales have just gotten underway, the legalization of personal possession has been the law since the beginning of 2013, and the results on that front are remarkable. According to official state court data, the number of misdemeanor marijuana charges against adults dropped dramatically, from more than 5,500 in 2012 to only 120 last year.</p><p>The experiences of Colorado and Washington show that -- if done correctly -- marijuana legalization can be a big winner for other states as well, experts and officials from the two pioneer states said Tuesday.</p><p>&quot;People call this an experiment, but it&#39;s time to treat marijuana like the drug it is, not the drug we fear it to be,&quot; said Colorado state Rep. Jonathan Singer, who was one of only two state representatives to endorse Amendment 64. &quot;We have to thank the people for leading; the legislature has been following,&quot; he said.</p><p>Issues remain, Singer said, but the state is dealing with them.</p><p>&quot;Lawmakers have to ensure that we responsibly regulate edibles and concentrates, so consumers are well aware of what they&#39;re putting in their bodies. We want consumers educated,&quot; he said. The legislature has passed a bill dealing with edibles.</p><p>&quot;The biggest issue is banking, and a bill I sponsored created first-of-a-kind cannabis credit co-ops,&quot; Singer said. &quot;We will soon be petitioning the Federal Reserve for services with members of the industry who have formed their own co-ops. When dispensaries get robbed, it&#39;s for the cash, not the marijuana.&quot;</p><p>[image:2 align:right caption:true]&quot;When voters decided to support Amendment 64, they did so to bring marijuana above ground in the hope that it wouldn&#39;t detrimentally impact public health and safety, and so far, it hasn&#39;t,&quot; said Art Way, Colorado state director for the Drug Policy Alliance. &quot;The most important impact we&#39;ve seen is that thousands of people are no longer being arrested for simple possession of marijuana in our state,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;All marijuana offenses have declined by about 50%, and law enforcement resources have been freed up to fight violent crime,&quot; Way continued. &quot;The state is saving millions of dollars a year in criminal justice system expenses.&quot;</p><p>For retired Denver police officer Tony Ryan, marijuana law enforcement was a distraction from more serious business.</p><p>&quot;Chasing marijuana smokers was not at the top of my list because I needed my officers to handle calls for service,&quot; Ryan said. &quot;We didn&#39;t have enough officers to cover calls, in part because of the distraction of doing narcotics enforcement, and when you&#39;re enforcing narcotics laws, you&#39;re mostly enforcing marijuana laws. This frees up police officers to do what they&#39;re supposed to do -- answer calls for service and work on solving crimes.&quot;</p><p>Lewis Koski is director of Marijuana Enforcement for the state of Colorado, and he said officials are keeping on top of the situation.</p><p>&quot;We&#39;ve recently been focused on how to comprehensively and effectively regulate the edibles manufacturing process,&quot; he said. &quot;We also do licensing and monitoring of the businesses that cultivate, manufacture, transport, and sell marijuana, and our licensing process is pretty robust.&quot;</p><p>The department also runs stings to check for age compliance, he said. Increased youth access to marijuana is one of the most often heard fears of legalization foes.</p><p>&quot;We put undercover underage individuals into the retail stores to see if they could buy anything, but what we&#39;ve seen is a 100% compliance rate,&quot; he said.</p><p>While Washington hasn&#39;t had as lengthy an experience with legalized, taxed, and regulated sales as Colorado, experts and officials from the Evergreen State also said legalization was working for them.</p><p>[image:3 align:left]&quot;We&#39;ve enjoyed a successful, albeit slow, launch,&quot; said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. &quot;We did see the virtual elimination of marijuana possession arrests, which has resulted in a restoration of justice. We&#39;re no longer hounding people for the possession of marijuana in the state of Washington.&quot;</p><p>There are issues remaining, but they are soluble, Holmes said.</p><p>&quot;One impediment is that our medical marijuana laws were in disarray after the former governor vetoed a regulation bill, and as a result, I-502 didn&#39;t touch medical at all,&quot; he noted. &quot;The biggest unfinished business for us is how the legislature will address medical. Perhaps it will be folded into the I-502 system.&quot;</p><p>Holmes also pointed to the issue of revenue sharing, the problem of some localities opting out, and the lack -- so far -- of a legal supply adequate to put a sizeable dent in the black market.</p><p>Like his Colorado law enforcement colleague, former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper saw legalization as a smart move.</p><p>&quot;It&#39;s no secret that relations between police officers and the communities they are required to serve are strained, especially with young and poor people, and marijuana enforcement is a big factor in this,&quot; Stamper argued. &quot;A vast number of poor young people of color have been arrested over the years. With I-502, there is a major shift in law enforcement priorities. Now, police can focus on burglaries and robberies and the like, and by freeing up resources, we can also deal a serious if not fatal blow to major drug dealers. This is making a huge and positive difference.&quot;</p><p>I-502 chief proponent Alison Holcomb was brief and to the point.</p><p>&quot;I-502 has preserved public safety, reduced the burden on police and prosecutors, and generated significant new tax resources,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;We&#39;ve learned a lot from Colorado and Washington, and we purposefully set up a very deliberative process,&quot; said Oregon Measure 91 campaign spokesman Anthony Johnson. &quot;The state will have a full year to analyze what&#39;s going on there and implement what&#39;s best for Oregon. We will regulate marijuana very much like we regulate beer and wine.&quot;</p><p>But first, they have to win. Measure 91 is leading in the polls, but by no means comfortably. Getting the message out about how things have gone in Colorado and Washington should only help.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/sep/30/colorado_and_washington_help_mak#comments2014Colorado Amendment 64Marijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationNews FeatureWashington Initiative 502Tue, 30 Sep 2014 22:57:20 +0000psmith31112 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: Scary Alaska Marijuana Poll, Maryland SWAT Raids, West Africa Drug Meeting (8/20/14)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/20/chronicle_am_scary_alaska_mariju
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<p>An unsettling poll in Alaska, Minnesota medical marijuana mom gets busted, there&#39;s money to be made in drug testing, Maryland SWAT teams have been busy, a West African meeting on drugs is underway, and more. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p>[image:1 align:right]<strong>Marijuana Policy </strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/19/alaska_marijuana_initiative_trai">Alaska Legalization Initiative Trails in Poll</a></strong>. The people trying to legalize marijuana in Alaska are in for a tough battle, if the most recent <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2014/PPP_Release_AK_8051205.pdf" target="_blank">Public Policy Polling survey</a> is any indicator. That poll, taken at the end of July and the beginning of this month, has the marijuana legalization initiative trailing, 44% to 49%. That&#39;s a reversal from PPP&#39;s last poll on the topic in <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2014/05/alaska-miscellany.html">May</a>, which had the initiative leading by a margin of 48% to 45%. Neither set of numbers is likely to lead to smiling faces at the <a href="http://regulatemarijuanainalaska.org/" target="_blank">Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska</a>, the group behind <a href="http://regulatemarijuanainalaska.org/full-initiative-text/" target="_blank">Measure 2</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.kvewtv.com/article/2014/aug/19/wa-attorney-general-files-brief-fife-marijuana-law/" target="_blank">Washington Attorney General Files Brief in I-502 Lawsuit</a></strong>. Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a <a href="http://www.atg.wa.gov/uploadedFiles/21_MMH_v_Fife_SummaryJudgmentMemo.pdf">brief</a> in a lawsuit filed by would-be marijuana business operators seeking to overturn local bans on such businesses. The brief argues that nothing in the state&#39;s voter-approved marijuana legalization law overrides the authority of local governments to regulate businesses, including marijuana businesses. In other words, the attorney general is supporting the localities against the marijuana business people.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/article_aeeb4a34-2856-11e4-bd2b-001a4bcf6878.html" target="_blank">Stoner Arrested for Growing Pot</a></strong>. Sorry, we couldn&#39;t resist (and it&#39;s a slow news day). Charlottesville, Virginia, resident Paul Stoner has been arrested by the Blue Ridge Narcotics and Gang Task Force for allegedly growing $10,000 worth of marijuana. He is charged with manufacturing marijuana and possessing a handgun while in possession of more than a pound of pot.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/26321446/minnesota-mom-charged-for-giving-son-cannabis-oil-early" target="_blank">Minnesota Mom Busted for Giving Son Cannabis Oil Too Soon</a></strong>. Although the state this year passed a law allowing for the use of some forms of medical marijuana, it doesn&#39;t go into effect until next July. That&#39;s too long to wait for Angela Brown, who traveled to Colorado to obtain cannabis oil for her 15-year-old son. Now she is facing two criminal misdemeanors, including child endangerment. The family says it is now considering moving to Colorado so the boy can get his medicine without his mom facing prosecution.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.pharmiweb.com/pressreleases/pressrel.asp?ROW_ID=97303" target="_blank">Big Bucks to Be Made in the Drug Testing Industry, Report Says</a></strong>. The drug testing industry racked up $2.8 billion in sales last year and is expected to continue to grow, according to a new report from industry watcher Kalorama Information. The report, <em><a href="http://www.kaloramainformation.com/redirect.asp?progid=86525&amp;productid=8284197" target="_blank">Drugs of Abuse Testing Markets</a></em>, says the market is expected to crack the $3 billion mark next year. &quot;Continued demand for testing in the workplace in sports and in government and demand for fast reliable new tests and technologies will be the catalyst for sustained growth&quot; said Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information.&quot;New drugs are also a factor.&quot;</p><p><strong>Law Enforcement</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://watchdogwire.com/maryland/2014/08/19/more-than-6500-swat-raids-in-maryland-since-2010/" target="_blank">More Than 6,500 SWAT Raids in Maryland Since 2010</a></strong>. According to data from the <a href="http://www.goccp.maryland.gov/msac/law-enforcement.php#swat" target="_blank">Maryland Statistical Analysis Center</a>, which is required to be reported under a state law passed in the wake of the infamous Prince Georges County SWAT raid that killed the dogs of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, SWAT teams in the state have been deployed more than 6,500 times in the past four fiscal years. That&#39;s 4.5 SWAT raids per day. Prince Georges County (suburban DC) carried out by far the most raids, accounting for 31% of all state SWAT raids. About 90% of SWAT deployments were to execute search warrants, but less than half of those warrants were for violent crimes. The available data doesn&#39;t separate out drug offenses.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=322077" target="_blank">Kofi Annan, Olusegun Obasanjo Meet With Ghanaian President on Drug Policy</a></strong>. The chairman of the <a href="http://www.wacommissionondrugs.org/" target="_blank">West African Commission on Drugs</a>, Olusegun Obasanjo, and its most prominent member, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, are meeting today with Ghanaian President John Mahama to discuss regional approaches to the illicit drug trade in the region. The commission earlier this summer called the drug trade a threat to West African institutions, public health, and development and urged regional governments to reform their drugs laws, including by decriminalizing drug possession.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/20/chronicle_am_scary_alaska_mariju#comments2014BusinessDecriminalizationDrug TestingMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefPolice RaidsPollingPublic OpinionSource and Transit CountriesState & Local Executive BranchesSWAT/ParamilitarizationWashington Initiative 502Wed, 20 Aug 2014 19:30:14 +0000psmith31042 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM -- August 8, 2014http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/08/chronicle_august_8_2014
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<p>Things get slow in the dog days of summer, but there&#39;s still news from the legal marijuana states, California continues to grapple with regulating medical marijuana, and a couple of items from Britain suggest change could be in the air there. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p><strong>Marijuana Policy </strong></p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong><a href="https://aclu-wa.org/news/business-owners-move-intervene-lawsuit-challenging-fife-s-ban-legal-marijuana-businesses" target="_blank">ACLU of Washington Joins Fight Against Local Marijuana Store Bans</a></strong>. The ACLU of Washington announced today that it is representing three state-licensed marijuana business owners who have filed a lawsuit challenging the city of Fife&#39;s ban on marijuana operations. The business owners and the ACLU argue that local bans violate I-502, the voter initiative that legalized marijuana in the state. You can view the ACLU&#39;s pleadings in the case <a href="http://www.aclu-wa.org/fife" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/news/news-new-survey-documents-youth-marijuana-use-need-prevention" target="_blank">Colorado Health Department Says Teen Marijuana Use Is Down Since Dispensaries Came, Voters Approved Legalization</a></strong>. An annual survey of teen drug use in the state has found that marijuana use has been declining since hundreds of medical marijuana outlets opened in the state in 2009 and since the state legalized adult marijuana use and sales in late 2012. Current use among Colorado teens dropped from 24.8% in 2009 to 20% in 2013. Meanwhile, nationally, teen current use has increased, from 20.8% in 2009 to 23.4% last year.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.kansas.com/2014/08/07/3586896/petition-to-decriminalize-marijuana.html" target="_blank">Wichita Decriminalization Initiative Campaign Comes Up Short on Signatures</a></strong>. There will be no popular vote on decriminalization in Wichita this year. Election officials said that campaigners didn&#39;t have enough valid voter signatures to qualify. Although they handed in about 3,500 signatures and only needed 2,928, they still came up 180 valid voter signatures short. They say they will now press the city council to act on decriminalization.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2014/08/08/californias-medical-marijuana-industry-will-be-able-to-make-a-legal-profit-for-the-first-time/" target="_blank">California Statewide Regulation Bill Goes to Assembly Appropriations Committee Next Week</a></strong>. The Assembly Appropriations will examine <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1262" target="_blank_">Senate Bill 1262</a>, the law enforcement- and local government-backed bill to regulate the state&#39;s medical marijuana industry next Wednesday. That&#39;s the last day the committee meets this session. The bill has already passed the Senate, but must pass the Assembly by month&#39;s end or it dies. The bill link above may not represent the latest changes to it; new updates are expected today. The bill has divided the state&#39;s medical marijuana community, with some groups supporting it as is and some demanding changes to make it friendlier to patients and the industry.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nick-clegg-says-lib-dems-4022692" target="_blank">British Liberal Democrats Will End Jail for Drug Possession, Nick Clegg Says</a></strong>. Liberal Democratic Party leader Nick Clegg has said that if the Lib Dems win the next election, they will move to abolish prison sentences for simple drug possession, even for Class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Half of the people currently being jailed for drug possession in Britain are being held for marijuana offenses. This call for effective decriminalization puts Clegg and the Lib Dems at odds with their governing coalition senior partners, the Tories. Meanwhile, the Home Office is currently undertaking a review of British drug policy.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-heroin-addicts-to-be-given-free-foil-to-help-them-kick-their-habit-9655225.html" target="_blank">British Government to Provide Foil to Heroin Users to Encourage Smoking Rather Than Injecting</a></strong>. In a harm reduction move, Britain will begin providing free foil to heroin users to encourage them to smoke the drug instead of injecting it. Injection drug users are more likely to contract blood-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. The move was approved last year by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/advisory-council-on-the-misuse-of-drugs" target="_blank_">Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs</a>, which said it could also help move addicts toward recovery.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/08/chronicle_august_8_2014#comments2014DecriminalizationHarm ReductionHeroinMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefWashington Initiative 502YouthFri, 08 Aug 2014 19:15:17 +0000psmith31022 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM -- August 1, 2014http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/01/chronicle_am_august_1_2014
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<p>The New York Times isn&#39;t done talking about marijuana, a House committee hears about stoned driving, you can comment now on Maryland&#39;s draft medical marijuana regulations, federal asset forfeiture and overdose prevention bills get introduced, and more. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy </strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html" target="_blank">New York Times Has a Week&#39;s Worth of Legalization Editorials</a></strong>. The Times&#39;s editorial last Sunday calling for the end of federal marijuana prohibition, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html" target="_blank">Repeal Prohibition, Again</a>, was only the beginning. Throughout this week, the &quot;newspaper of record&quot; has kept at it -- and there&#39;s still more to come. The other editorials printed so far are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-let-states-decide-on-marijuana.html" target="_blank">Let States Decide on Marijuana</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/opinion/high-time-the-injustice-of-marijuana-arrests.html" target="_blank">The Injustice of Marijuana Arrests</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/opinion/high-time-federal-marijuana-ban-is-rooted-in-myth.html" target="_blank">The Federal Marijuana Ban is Rooted in Myth and Xenophobia</a>, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/opinion/what-science-says-about-marijuana.html" target="_blank">What Science Says About Marijuana</a>. Still to come are editorials addressing track records and regulation. There is also a <a href="http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/26/some-background-on-our-high-time-series/" target="_blank">blog post</a> providing background on the Times&#39;s decision to endorse legalization.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/31/congress-scaremongers-on-stoned-driving.html" target="_blank">House Holds Hearing on Stoned Driving</a></strong>. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing yesterday on driving under the influence of marijuana, &quot;<a href="http://oversight.house.gov/hearing/planes-trains-automobiles-operating-stoned/" target="_blank">Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Operating While Stoned</a>,&quot; but the upshot was that the federal government has very little information about stoned driving and little basis for setting a legal limit for marijuana impairment. &quot;No one is arguing that [driving while high is] a good idea, but the fact of the matter is that we don&#39;t have a lot of data,&quot; said Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly. &quot;[Public policy has] got to be based on science, and we need more of it.&quot; Researchers testifying before the committee agreed. Click on the hearing link to watch the whole thing.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.kentreporter.com/news/269420451.html" target="_blank">Washington Attorney General Intervenes in I-502 Lawsuits</a></strong>. Attorney General Bob Ferguson yesterday moved to intervene in three marijuana lawsuits filed against the cities of Wenatchee and Fife, which have passed local ordinances barring the operation of retail marijuana outlets. An opinion released by Ferguson in January concluded that I-502 does not bar localities from banning such businesses, so it appears he will be siding with the localities.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2014/08/marijuana_legalization_initiat.html" target="_blank">More Michigan Towns to Vote on Marijuana Reform Measures</a></strong>. Three more Michigan communities have joined the list of towns and cities that will vote on municipal legalization measures. Saginaw, Clare, and Harrison all have measures that have qualified for the ballot. In Saginaw, up to an ounce would be legalized; in Clare and Harrison, up to 2.5 ounces. More than a dozen Michigan communities are expected to vote on reform measures in November.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-22868-dont_bogart_that_tax.html" target="_blank">Portland, Oregon, Moves to Tax Marijuana Before It&#39;s Even Legal</a></strong>. The city of Portland has created a marijuana advisory committee in anticipation of voters legalizing marijuana statewide in November. The committee is discussing where to allow pot shops, but it is also moving to create a city sales tax -- and it has to do that before the November election because the language of the <a href="http://newapproachoregon.com" target="_blank">New Approach Oregon</a> initiative does not allow cities to impose taxes beyond the state tax it imposes. The thinking is that if a tax is passed before the election, it can be grandfathered in.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://dhmh.maryland.gov/docs/Informal%20Draft%20Application%20for%20Grower%27s%20License%20Draft%206.30.14.pdf" target="_blank">Maryland Medical Marijuana Draft Regulations are Now Available -- And You Have Until Tuesday to Comment</a></strong>. Maryland&#39;s medical marijuana commission has released draft regulations for cultivators and physicians. The Marijuana Policy Project has some problems with them, including calls for an &quot;unnecessary&quot; training course on medical marijuana for all certifying physicians, mandatory drug testing for patients, and a requirement that doctors specify dosage and strain type. These are <em>draft</em> regulations, but the period for comment on the draft ends Tuesday. Interested parties can <a href="mailto:dhmh.medicalmarijuanacommission@maryland.gov" target="_blank">email the commission</a> to register their comments.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4498" target="_blank">Legitimate Use of Medicinal Marijuana Act Picks Up New Cosponsor</a></strong>. House Resolution 4498, the Legitimate Use of Medical Marijuana Act, has picked up a fourth cosponsor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). The bill, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), would move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act and block the act from being used against medical marijuana in states where it is legal.</p><p><strong>Sentencing</strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1410" target="_blank">Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014 Picks Up New Cosponsor</a></strong>. Senate Bill 1410, the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014, has picked up its 31st cosponsor, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). The bill would allow judges in some cases to sentence without regard to mandatory minimums, reduce mandatory minimums, and allow people sentenced for crack offenses after the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act went into effect to seek sentence reductions.</p><p><strong>Harm Reduction</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2014/07/senator-jack-reed-introduces-legislation-combat-nationwide-overdose-crisis" target="_blank">Senator Jack Reed Introduces Overdose Prevention Act</a></strong>. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and four Democratic cosponsors today introduced the Overdose Prevention Act, which would expand overdose prevention services and providing funding for access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone. The bill is not yet up on the congressional web site.</p><p><strong>Asset Forfeiture</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/31/rep-tim-walberg-introduces-bill-to-curb-asset-forfeiture-abuse" target="_blank">Rep. Tim Walberg Introduces Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill</a></strong>. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) has filed <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr5212/text" target="_blank">House Resolution 5212</a>, the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act. The bill would raise the standard of proof necessary for the government to seize property and reinstate due process so the government is required to &nbsp;prove a property owner&#39;s involvement in criminal activity. This is the second asset forfeiture reform bill filed in as many weeks. Last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) filed the FAIR (Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration) ACT, <a href="http://www.paul.senate.gov/files/documents/FAIRAct.pdf" target="_blank">Senate Bill 2644</a>, which would require the government to prove with clear and convincing evidence that the property it wishes to forfeit is connected with a crime.</p><p><strong>Law Enforcement</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/31/report-student-left-in-cell-5-days_n_5636188.html" target="_blank">Justice Department Report Scolds DEA for Leaving Student in Cell for Five Days</a></strong>. A Justice Department report on the detention of San Diego student Daniel Chong, who was left unattended in a holding cell for five days at a DEA office there, has concluded that the DEA did not take simple measures to ensure that detainees are not forgotten. The report also slammed the agency for having the same agents who left Chong in the cell conduct the investigation into how it happened. Chong earlier received a $1.4 million payout from the DEA to settle a lawsuit he brought against the agency.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/504434.html" target="_blank">Russian Drug Agency Proposes Giving Social Benefits to Recovering Drug Users</a></strong>. In something of a surprise move, the Russian Federal Drug Control Service has proposed providing free housing, food subsidies, and home health care to help recovering drug users progress in their rehabilitation. The bill would add drug addicts to a list of categories of people considered socially vulnerable, such as senior citizens and people with disabilities. The proposal has drawn harsh criticism from opponents, who argue that it would encourage drug use.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/01/chronicle_am_august_1_2014#comments2014Addiction TreatmentAsset ForfeitureCongressCrack/Powder Cocaine DisparityDEADecriminalizationDrivingMandatory MinimumsMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefOverdose PreventionState & Local Executive BranchesWashington Initiative 502Fri, 01 Aug 2014 20:39:18 +0000psmith31008 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM -- May 13, 2014http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/may/13/chronicle_am_may_13_2014
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<p>The DC marijuana legalization initiative picks up some welcomed support, there&#39;s a legal challenge to Washington state&#39;s ability to collect marijuana taxes, a Republican US senator talks drug reform and takes some jabs at Obama, fentanyl-laced heroin is killing people in Philadelphia, and more. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p>[image:1 align:left]<strong>Marijuana Policy </strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2014/05/drug-policy-alliance-hires-dr-malik-burnett-advance-marijuana-legalization-district-col" target="_blank">Two Drug Reform Groups Get Behind DC Legalization Initiative</a></strong>. The <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org/" target="_blank">Drug Policy Alliance</a> has hired Dr. Malik Burnett as a full-time organizer in Washington, DC, to build support for Initiative 71, the <a href="http://dcmj.org/ballot-initiative/" target="_blank">DC marijuana legalization initiative</a>. But his work in DC will also go beyond marijuana policy to include broader drug and social justice reform issues. Meanwhile, <a href="http://stopthedrugwar.org/">StoptheDrugWar.org</a> (that&#39;s us) has <a href="http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/may/13/help_us_legalize_marijuana_washi_0">endorsed the initiative</a> and is seeking to deliver 5,000 of the 25,000 signatures needed. You can sign up to donate to our initiative effort <a href="http://stopthedrugwar.org/donate/">here</a> or sign up to volunteer <a href="mailto:borden@drcnet.org?subject=DCMJ%20Volunteer">here</a>. Or click on the endorsement link for more information. Click the title link for more info about the DPA move.</p><p><strong><a href="http://blog.mpp.org/medical-marijuana/federal-lawsuit-filed-to-derail-washington-state-from-collecting-taxes-on-marijuana-sales/05122014" target="_blank">Washington State Lawsuit Challenges State&#39;s Ability to Collect Marijuana Taxes</a></strong>. A Washington dispensary operator has filed a lawsuit attempting to stop the state from collecting taxes on marijuana sales. The operator, Martin Nickerson, is being prosecuted for the sale of medical marijuana he produced and argues that forcing him to pay taxes on his marijuana sales would violate his 5th Amendment right against self incrimination. He is represented by Douglas Hiatt, a Seattle marijuana and medical marijuana defense attorney and ardent foe of the I-502 legalization scheme. I-502&#39;s main proponent, Alison Holcomb, said she thinks the lawsuit has little chance of succeeding.</p><p><strong><a href="http://dispatchpolitics.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2014/05/05.13.2014-supreme-court-marijuana.html" target="_blank">Ohio Supreme Court Forum to Discuss &quot;Unintended Consequences&quot; of Legalization Today</a></strong>. A discussion on &quot;Marijuana Legalization and the Law of Unintended Consequences&quot; moderated by state Supreme Court Justice Maureen O&#39;Connor will take place today at 5:30pm at the Ohio Supreme Court in Columbus. Panelists are Colorado Deputy Atttorney General David Blake, Ohio State law professor and <a href="http://sentencing.typepad.com/" target="_blank">Sentencing Law and Policy</a> blog author Douglas Berman, and <a href="http://www.mpp.org/" target="_blank">Marijuana Policy Project</a> director of federal policies Dan Riffle. Questions can be submitted via Twitter using hashtag #OhioFOTL.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.roosevelt.edu/CAS/CentersAndInstitutes/IMA/ICDP/Upcoming_Events.aspx" target="_blank">Illinois Drug Policy Consortium to Discuss New Marijuana Policy Report Monday</a></strong>. The IDPC will have a panel discussing its new report on marijuana policy, <em>Patchwork Policy: An evaluation of arrests and tickets in Illinois</em>, next Monday, the day it is released. Click on the link for more info, including time and location details.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/article_6bf03460-da13-11e3-bb6c-001a4bcf887a.html" target="_blank">Iowa Governor Likely to Sign Limited CBD Medical Marijuana Bill</a></strong>. Gov. Terry Brandstad (R) told a news conference Monday he has consulted with the governors of other states that have passed limited CBD medical marijuana bills and he thinks Iowa can move forward without &quot;unintended consequences.&quot; He gave the legislature credit for crafting a very tight bill. &quot;I think it&#39;s important that we respond to legitimate concerns from the public but we also have to protect against unforeseen consequences. I think the legislature in this case has tried to do that. My inclination at this point is to say that I&#39;m inclined to think that it&#39;s likely that I will sign it,&quot; he said. The bill is <a href="http://coolice.legis.iowa.gov/linc/85/external/SF2360_Introduced.html" target="_blank">Senate File 2360</a>.</p><p><strong>Drug Policy</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/05/rob-portman-advocates-for-drug-reform/370064" target="_blank">Republican Senator Rob Portman Talks Drug Reform</a></strong>. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) is set to give a speech today at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, in which he will reportedly call for a reassessment of the decades long war on drugs. He will also reportedly criticize President Obama&#39;s plan to grant clemency to hundreds or thousands of convicted drug offenders, calling it a &quot;band aid solution&quot; that doesn&#39;t address deeper problems driving recidivism. He will also advocate for <a href="http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/05/12/sen-portman-targets-us-poverty/9017467/" target="_blank">reauthorization of the Second Chance Act</a>, which is aimed at reducing recidivism. Portman could have national ambitions in 2016.</p><p><strong>Heroin</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140513_Deaths_from_Fentanyl-laced_Heroin_soar_in_Philadelphia.html" target="_blank">Fentanyl-Laced Heroin Killing People in Philly</a></strong>. At least 28 people in Philadelphia died from overdosing on fentany-laced heroin between March 3 and April 20, the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability said Monday. The department is awaiting test results on seven more people. Fentanyl is a powerful narcotic many times more potent than heroin and is used to treat severe pain. An earlier wave of fentanyl-laced heroin killed 269 people in the city in 2006 and more than 2,000 people nationwide. The city health department has issued an alert.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/11/zetas-founder-killed/8984223" target="_blank">Zetas Co-Founder Among Six Killed in Mexican Border Town Shootout</a></strong>. Gallando Mellado Cruz, one of the military deserters who helped found the gang of drug enforcers for the Gulf Cartel that morphed into the Zetas, was among six people killed in a gun battle between Mexican soldiers and cartel gunmen in the border town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, just across the Rio Grande River from McAllen, Texas. Four other cartel gunmen and one soldier also died. Tamaulipas was the scene of bloody infighting between the Zetas and the Gulf cartel before calming down somewhat in 2012, but fighting has broken out again in recent weeks.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.cannabisculture.com/content/2014/05/12/Future-Sensible-BC-and-Our-Campaign-Marijuana-Reform" target="_blank">Canada&#39;s Sensible BC Announces Future Plans</a></strong>. The Canadian marijuana law reform group <a href="http://www.sensiblebc.ca/" target="_blank">Sensible BC</a>, which managed to gather more than 200,000 signatures for a provincial referendum to stop arrests for pot possession in BC, but still failed to make the ballot, has announced it will hold off on another referendum campaign until after the federal election in October 2015. Then, if Conservative Prime Minister Steven Harper wins reelection or if his replacement refuses to move forward on legalization, the group says it will launch a new referendum campaign in 2016. Until then, Sensible BC says it will focus on building its network and organization, keeping the issue alive in the media, and working on municipal elections coming in November.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/may/13/chronicle_am_may_13_2014#comments2014CanadaClemency and PardonCongressFentanylMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaMexican Drug WarNews BriefOverdosesReentry/RehabilitationState & Local Executive BranchesWashington Initiative 502Tue, 13 May 2014 21:09:51 +0000psmith30855 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM -- March 10, 2014http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/mar/10/chronicle_am_march_10_2014
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<p>California&#39;s Democrats endorse marijuana legalization, Caricom gets ready to talk marijuana, Attorney General Holder calls for expanded access to naloxone to prevent overdose deaths, legislatures in the Pacific Northwest make moves on medical marijuana, and more. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://polis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=372045" target="_blank">Rep. Jared Polis Introduces Federal Marijuana Impaired Driving Bill</a></strong>. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), a supporter of marijuana legalization, has introduced the Limiting Unsafe Cannabis-Impaired Driving (LUCID) Act, which would expand the federal definition of an impaired driver to include those impaired by marijuana use. The bill is not yet available online, and the devil is in the details. Stay tuned.</p><p><strong><a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/03/09/major-shift-ca-democrats-proposed-platform-plank-calls-for-full-legalization-of-pot" target="_blank">California Democratic Party Endorses Legalization</a></strong>. The California Democratic Party voted Sunday to include in its platform a plank &quot;to support the legalization, regulation and taxation of pot in a manner similar to that of tobacco or alcohol.&quot;</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/09/cpac-marijuana_n_4931557.html" target="_blank">Support for Legalization at CPAC</a></strong>. Attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington included many supporters of marijuana legalization, according to both a <em>Huffington Post</em> informal survey and a <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/09/288178887/sen-rand-paul-repeats-in-cpac-presidential-straw-poll" target="_blank">CPAC straw poll</a>, which had 62% saying legalize it.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/03/nj_medical_marijuana_program_wont_consider_adding_new_illnesses_until_2015.html" target="_blank">New Jersey Program Won&#39;t Consider Adding New Conditions Until 2015</a></strong>. A Health Department spokesperson said late last week that the state&#39;s medical marijuana program will not consider expanding the list of conditions covered under state law until next year. That would appear to contradict the law, which required the health department to consider adding new diseases requested by the public after it submitted two annual reports, beginning in 2011, charting the program&#39;s progress. It also required the health department to produce a biennial report in 2012 and every two years after assessing whether there were enough growers to meet demand. But the Chris Christie administration didn&#39;t issue any reports at all until late last month, and now says it is too soon to add more illnesses.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/03/08/3086125/senate-votes-to-regulate-medical.html" target="_blank">Washington Senate Votes to Regulate Medical Marijuana</a></strong>. Legislation that would essentially fold the state&#39;s existing medical marijuana program into the I-502 legalization framework passed the Senate Saturday. <a href="http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5887" target="_blank">Senate Bill 5887</a> would require dispensaries to be licensed under the legalization format. Patients could get their medicine there or grow their own, and they could voluntarily register with the state to get a partial tax break and buy greater quantities than allowed under general legalization. The measure now goes to the House, which has already passed a bill that requires mandatory patient registration. The session ends this week.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.mainstreet.com/article/family/family-health/medical-marijuana-added-new-york-assembly-budget-proposal" target="_blank">New York Assembly Democrats Roll Medical Marijuana Bill into Budget Proposal</a></strong>. In a bid to finally get medical marijuana through the legislature, Assembly Democrats have folded a bill to do that into this week&#39;s budget proposal. The bill resembles the Compassionate Care Act introduced by Assemblyman Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan), but is not identical to it.</p><p><strong>Harm Reduction</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/10/us-usa-drugs-heroin-idUSBREA290EU20140310" target="_blank">Holder Calls Heroin ODs &quot;Urgent Public Health Crisis,&quot; Calls for Expanded Naloxone Access</a></strong>. US Attorney General Eric Holder Monday said the Justice Department was stepping up efforts to slow the increase in heroin overdose deaths. As part of that effort, he reiterated the administration&#39;s call for more law enforcement agencies to be equipped with the opiate overdose reversal drug naloxone (Narcan).</p><p><strong>Methamphetamine</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.smithvilleherald.com/news/state_news/article_bab59e00-e8d0-50bf-8f71-b99efba7eff9.html" target="_blank">Pseudoephedrine Restriction Bill Introduced in Missouri House</a></strong>. Reps. Stanley Cox (R-118) and Kenneth Wilson (R-12) have filed a bill that lowers limits on the amount of pseudoephedrine-based medicines that people can purchase each month, sets an annual limit on purchase amounts, lowers the amount people can legally possess, and requires a prescription for anyone with a felony drug offense. <a href="http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills141/billpdf/intro/HB1787I.PDF" target="_blank">House Bill 1787</a> is similar to legislation filed earlier this year in the Senate. That bill, <a href="http://legiscan.com/MO/text/SB625/2014" target="_blank">Senate Bill 625</a>, is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.leap.cc/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/LEAP_UN_Treaty_Amendment_2.26.1421-1.pdf" target="_blank">LEAP Proposes Amendment to UN Drug Treaties</a></strong>. <a href="http://www.leap.cc/" target="_blank">Law Enforcement Against Prohibition</a> (LEAP) has proposed an amendment to the UN drug treaties, the legal backbone of global drug prohibition. The amendment seeks to &quot;eliminate the criminalization-oriented drug policy paradigm and replace it with a health, harm reduction, and human rights-oriented policy.&quot; The proposed amendment is accompanied by a <a href="http://www.leap.cc/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Letter-to-world-leaders_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">letter to world leaders</a> from LEAP executive director Neill Franklin. Read the amendment by clicking on the title link and sign onto it at the <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/amend-un-treaties-to" target="_blank">MoveOn.org link here</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/2014/03/08/0c115cd0-a6f2-11e3-b865-38b254d92063_story.html" target="_blank">Caricom Leaders to Debate Marijuana Legalization This Week</a></strong>. Leaders of the Caribbean Community (<a href="http://www.caricom.org/">Caricom</a>) trade bloc will discuss a preliminary report on decriminalizing marijuana and exploring its medicinal uses at a two-day summit beginning today on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. The summit comes on the heels of a research report released last week by Caricom researchers that found such moves could help the region&#39;s sluggish economy.</p><p><strong><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/2014/03/09/df38e284-a7d0-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html" target="_blank">Mexico Kills La Familia Cartel Leader -- Again</a></strong>. Mexican authorities are reporting that that they killed Nazario &quot;El Mas Loco&quot; (The Craziest One) Moreno in a shootout in Michoacan Sunday. The funny thing is that Moreno, one time leader of the La Familia Cartel, was also reported killed by authorities in December 2010. But his body was never found, and now government spokesmen say he was still alive and was acting as head of La Familia&#39;s replacement, the Knights Templar Cartel.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/mar/10/chronicle_am_march_10_2014#commentsCrime & ViolenceDecriminalizationDrivingExecutive BranchHeroinMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaMexican Drug WarNews BriefOverdose PreventionPolitics Outside USPollingPublic HealthState & Local Executive BranchesState & Local LegislaturesUnited NationsWashington Initiative 502Mon, 10 Mar 2014 22:07:27 +0000psmith30744 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM -- January 17, 2014http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jan/17/chronicle_am_january_17_2014
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<p>Washington&#39;s attorney general has dealt a body blow to the statewide legalization of marijuana commerce there, medical marijuana continues to keep state legislatures busy, a New Mexico town and county pay out big time for a horrid anal search, heroin legislation is moving in Kentucky, and more. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p>[image:1 align:right]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.atg.wa.gov/pressrelease.aspx?&amp;id=31774" target="_blank">Washington Attorney General Rules Localities Can Ban Marijuana Businesses</a>. In a formal opinion released Thursday, the Washington attorney general&#39;s office held that &quot;Initiative 502 as drafted and presented to the voters does not prevent local governments from regulating or banning marijuana businesses in their jurisdictions.&quot; The ACLU of Washington said the attorney general&#39;s opinion is mistaken and it <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/marijuana/2014/01/16/aclus-holcomb-we-will-fight-city-bans-on-marijuana-businesses/" target="_blank">&quot;will go to court if necessary&quot;</a> to see it overturned, while the state Liquor Control Board, which is charged with implementing I-502 said that the &quot;opinion would be a disappointment to the majority of voters who approved the law.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/marijuana_pot_weed_new_orleans_la_2014.html" target="_blank">Marijuana Reforms Will Be on the Legislative Agenda in Louisiana Again This Year</a>. State Rep. Austin Badon (D-New Orleans) has already introduced <a href="http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=14RS&amp;b=HB14" target="_blank">House Bill 14</a>, which would dramatically lessen the state&#39;s draconian marijuana penalties, and further-reaching bills could be forthcoming. The Badon bill passed the House last year before dying in the Senate.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.bradenton.com/2014/01/16/4939911/pa-senate-plans-hearing-on-medical.html" target="_blank">Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Bill to Get Hearing This Month</a>. State Senate Law and Justice Committee Chairman Chuck McIlhinney (R) said Thursday he had scheduled a public hearing for January 28 on a medical marijuana bill introduced this week. The bill, <a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2013&amp;sind=0&amp;body=S&amp;type=B&amp;bn=1182" target="_blank">Senate Bill 1182</a>, is cosponsored by Sens. Daylin Leach (D) and Mike Folmer (R).</p><p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/hawaii-marijuana-dispensa_n_4613146.html" target="_blank">Hawaii House Speaker Says State Needs Dispensaries</a>. House Speaker Joe Souki said Wednesday that the lack of places for medical marijuana patients to obtain their medicine was &quot;a gap in the law&quot; that needs to be addressed. That patients can use medical marijuana but have no place to obtain it is &quot;an anomaly,&quot; he said. Addressing dispensaries is a &quot;humanitarian&quot; issue, he added.</p><p><a href="http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/57395603-90/marijuana-poll-medical-recreational.html.csp" target="_blank">Utah Poll Finds Narrow Majority for Medical Marijuana</a>. A new Salt Lake Tribune poll has 51% of Utahns supporting medical marijuana, but 67% opposing decriminalization or legalization.</p><p><a href="http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2014-01-16/georgians-favor-medical-marijuana-not-guns-campus-poll-says" target="_blank">Georgia Poll Finds Narrow Majority for Medical Marijuana</a>. A new InsiderAdvantage poll has 51% of Georgians supporting medical marijuana &quot;in very specific instances, such as in a liquid form to reduce seizures from young children.&quot; Some 27% were opposed, and 22% undecided. &quot;The key here is that any legislation must be on a limited basis. That said, Republicans and Democrats both support this legislation by well over 50 percent, while independent voters are close to a majority as well,&quot; said Matt Towery, president of InsiderAdvantage and a former legislator.</p><p><strong>Heroin</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.kentucky.com/2014/01/16/3037673/kentucky-senate-approves-bill.html" target="_blank">Kentucky Senate Approves Bill to Reduce Overdose Deaths, Increase Trafficking Penalties</a>. The state Senate Thursday approved <a href="http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/14RS/SB5.htm" target="_blank">Senate Bill 5</a>, which would create more treatment beds for heroin users and lengthen prison sentences for heroin and methamphetamine traffickers. A similar version of the bill passed the Republican-led Senate last year, but stalled in the Democratic-led House. The bill would require the state Medicaid program to cover several inpatient and outpatient treatment options for people addicted to opiates, including heroin and prescription painkillers. It also would divert some of the state&#39;s hoped-for savings from a 2011 prison sentencing reform package to expand treatment programs. But the bill would also stiffen penalties for people convicted of trafficking in larger quantities of heroin, methamphetamines or both, requiring them to serve at least half of their prison sentences before they are eligible for shock probation or parole.</p><p><strong>Search and Seizure</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/article/man_to_get_1.6m_for_humiliating_3-enema_hospital_colonoscopy_ordeal_after" target="_blank">New Mexico Town, County Pay Out Big Time for Forced Anal Searches of Drug Suspect</a>. A Deming, New Mexico, man who was subjected to a hospital anal exam involving three enemas, a colonoscopy, and being forced to defecate in front of police and medical personnel in a fruitless search for drugs will get $1.6 million in damages in a settlement from Deming and Hidalgo County. David Eckert will most likely win additional damages from a local hospital where doctors agreed to perform the exam.</p><p><strong>Sentencing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.justicefellowship.org/content/congress-tees-bipartisan-discussion-criminal-justice-reform" target="_blank">Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections Funded in Federal Spending Bill</a>. The omnibus federal spending bill filed this week and expected to pass quickly includes $1 million to establish the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections, an independent, bipartisan grouping that will examine a number of challenges facing the federal correctional system, including overcrowding and ways to minimize growth, violence behind bars, rehabilitation, and reentry. Colson was a Nixon administration official jailed in the Watergate scandal who became a prison reformer in the wake of that experience.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://bernews.com/2014/01/minister-comments-on-medical-marijuana-petition" target="_blank">Spurred by Attorney, Bermuda&#39;s Medical Marijuana Debate Heats Up</a>. Attorney Alan Gordon&#39;s <a href="https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/allow-immediate-medical-cannabis-access-for-seriously-ill-bermudians" target="_blank">online petition </a>to have the Bermudan government allow emergency access to medical marijuana for cancer patients has spurred considerable notice on the island, with National Security Minister Michael Dunkley and Gordon publicly clashing over the law and whether Dunkley can act. Click on the link to see Dunkley&#39;s comments and Gordon&#39;s well-publicized written response.</p><p><a href="http://www.handsoffcain.info/" target="_blank">Vietnam Sentences Three Drug Offenders to Death; Iran Executes Six</a>. And the resort to the death penalty against drug offenders continues. According to the anti-death penalty group Hands Off Cain, three Vietnamese men charged with heroin trafficking got death sentences, while Iran, the world&#39;s leading drug offender execution, hung another six.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jan/17/chronicle_am_january_17_2014#commentsAddiction TreatmentCongressDeath PenaltyHeroinMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaMethamphetamineNews BriefOverdose PreventionReentry/RehabilitationSentencingState & Local Executive BranchesState & Local LegislaturesWashington Initiative 502Fri, 17 Jan 2014 21:50:00 +0000psmith30633 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM -- January 16, 2014http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jan/16/chronicle_am_january_16_2014
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<p>Florida&#39;s medical marijuana initiative appears poised to qualify for the ballot (if it survives a challenge in the state Supreme Court), a new poll finds the country evenly split on marijuana legalization, Afghanistan was on the agenda in the Senate yesterday, and more. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/01/americans-split-evenly-on-legalizing-marijuana" target="_blank">ABC News/Washington Post Poll Has Americans Split on Marijuana</a>. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll has support for marijuana legalization nationwide at 49%, with 48% opposed. The poll is in the same ballpark as other polls since the November 2012 elections, where support for legalization has ranged between 45% and 58%. Click on the link to see full poll results.</p><p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2014/01/15/17af548a-7e38-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html" target="_blank">DEA Operations Chief Bemoans Marijuana Legalization Trend</a>. DEA operations chief James Capra told a Senate committee Wednesday that marijuana legalization at the state level was &quot;reckless and irresponsible&quot; and could lead to dire consequences. &quot;It scares us,&quot; Capra said, responding to a question. &quot;Every part of the world where this has been tried, it has failed time and time again.&quot; <em>[Editor&#39;s Note: No country had legalized marijuana until Uruguay did late last year, and that hasn&#39;t gone into effect yet. If Capra is referring to Amsterdam, where sales are tolerated, if not technically legal, cannabis coffee shops are now in their fourth decade of existence, and the problems associated with them are relatively trivial.] </em>&quot;There are more dispensaries in Denver than there are Starbucks,&quot; he continued. &quot;The idea somehow people in our country have that this is somehow good for us as a nation is wrong. It&#39;s a bad thing. This is a bad experiment. It&#39;s going to cost us in terms of social costs.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://lakeexpo.com/news/top_stories/article_03ccc944-7e46-11e3-bf65-001a4bcf887a.html" target="_blank">Missouri Marijuana Legalization Petitions Approved for Circulation</a>. Secretary of State Jason Kander announced Wednesday that <a href="http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2014petitions/14init_pet.asp" target="_blank">13 marijuana legalization initiatives</a> had been approved for signature-gathering. The bakers&#39; dozen initiatives are all variations on a theme: legalize and regulate marijuana in Missouri. They were submitted by Columbia defense attorney Dan Viets, the chairman of the activist group <a href="http://www.show-mecannabis.com/" target="_blank">Show-Me Cannabis</a>. To make the November 2014 ballot, organizers must gather 157,778 valid voter signatures for at least one of them by May 4.</p><p><a href="http://hemp.org/news/content/maryland-lawmakers-launch-effort-regulate-and-tax-marijuana-alcohol" target="_blank">Maryland Coalition to Legalize Marijuana Launched</a>. Maryland legislators Thursday launched an effort to get a marijuana legalization bill, the <a href="http://www.marijuanapolicyinmd.org/summary-for-both-the-house-and-senate-bill" target="_blank">Marijuana Control Act of 2014</a>, passed this year. They were joined at a press conference by members of the newly formed <a href="http://www.marijuanapolicyinmd.org/" target="_blank">Marijuana Policy Coalition of Maryland</a>, which includes the ACLU of Maryland, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the Maryland League of Women Voters, the Marijuana Policy Project, and the Maryland NAACP.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.unitedforcare.org/wedidit" target="_blank">Florida Initiative Campaign Has Gathered 1.1 Million Signatures</a>. The folks behind the Florida medical marijuana initiative, <a href="http://www.unitedforcare.org/" target="_blank">United For Care/Patients United for Freedom</a>, announced Wednesday night that they had gathered 1.1 million signatures, nearly half a million more than needed to qualify for the ballot. While all the signatures haven&#39;t been validated yet, organizers are now confident they will pass that hurdle. Now, they have to wait and see if the state Supreme Court is going to allow the effort to move ahead.</p><p><a href="http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2014-01-16/bill_to_restrict_medical_marijuana_sparks_opposition" target="_blank">Washington Patients, Advocates Speak Out Against Bill That Would Gut Medical Marijuana System</a>. The House Health Committee got an earful from medical marijuana advocates at a hearing Wednesday on <a href="http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2149.pdf" target="_blank">House Bill 2149</a>, which would eliminate cultivation cooperatives (and thus, dispensaries) by 2020 and reduce the amount of marijuana patients could possess and the number of plants they could grow. The bill mirrors many of the recommendations of the state Liquor Control Board, which is charged with implementing I-502 marijuana legalization.</p><p><strong>Hemp</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.tristatehomepage.com/story/proposal-made-to-legalize-hemp-production-in-india/d/story/9Y-uwUOqukiECOPeID0KMg" target="_blank">Indiana Hemp Bill Introduced</a>. State Sen. Richard Young (D-Milltown) has introduced <a href="http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2014/bills/senate/357" target="_blank">Senate Bill 357</a>, which would allow the Department of Agriculture to license industrial hemp growing and production. The bill requires the department to get necessary approvals from the federal government, which has yet to approve any such production anywhere in the US.</p><p><a href="http://agrinews-pubs.com/Content/News/MoneyNews/Article/Industrial-hemp-supporters-still-hope-for-state-approval/8/27/9431" target="_blank">Illinois Hemp Bill Seeks New Life in 2014</a>. State Rep. Kenneth Dunkin (D-Chicago) introduced a hemp bill, <a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB2668eng&amp;GA=98&amp;SessionId=85&amp;DocTypeId=HB&amp;LegID=74474&amp;DocNum=2668&amp;GAID=12&amp;Session=0" target="_blank">House Bill 2668</a>, last year, but it has languished in committee despite picking up some bipartisan support. He said Wednesday that he was cautiously optimistic that opposition may be softening, and the bill could move this year.</p><p><strong>Heroin</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Heroin_deaths_quadrupled_in_Maine_from_2011_to_2012_.html" target="_blank">Maine Heroin Deaths Up Fourfold from 2011 to 2012</a>. The number of heroin overdose deaths in Maine quadrupled between 2011 and 2012, according to numbers released by state officials Wednesday. Officials said the increase was due to tightening restrictions on the use of prescription opiates, a cheap heroin supply, and, possibly, cuts in MaineCare. But while the increase was dramatic, the 28 heroin overdose deaths reported in 2012 is well below the 2005 peak of 43. In the years between 2005 and 2011, heroin deaths declined steadily.</p><p><a href="http://www.wqow.com/story/24449980/2014/01/14/assembly-passes-heroin-prevention-domestic-abuse-bills" target="_blank">Heroin Prevention Bill Package Passes Wisconsin Assembly</a>. The State Assembly Wednesday passed the HOPE (Heroin Opiate Prevention and Education) package of four bills designed to reduce the number of overdose deaths in the state. Sponsored by Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), one bill would allow anyone to use naloxone to reverse overdoses, another would grant legal immunity to drug users who call for help in an overdose emergency, a third would allow communities to establish prescription drug drop-off points, and the fourth would require people to show ID when picking up prescription drugs. The naloxone and legal immunity bills are <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2013/proposals/ab446" target="_blank">Assembly Bill 446</a> and <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2013/proposals/ab447" target="_blank">Assembly Bill 447</a>. The package now moves to the Senate.</p><p><strong>Kratom</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.okcfox.com/story/24465573/kratom-users-fight-back" target="_blank">Oklahoma Wants to Ban Kratom, But Meets Resistance</a>. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics wants to ban the Southeast Asian herb kratom, which it calls &quot;the legal form of heroin,&quot; but kratom fans are responding with dismay and disputing the narcs&#39; assessment. Kratom is not a controlled substance under federal law, but narc Mark Woodward said he planned to ban it until it is federally proven to have medical benefits. Kratom users have started <a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/oklahoma-state-legislator-please-reconsider-banning-kratom" target="_blank">a petition to challenge efforts to ban Kratom.</a></p><p><strong>Drug Courts</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/drug-courts-and-drug-treatment-dismissing-science-and-patients-rights" target="_blank">Study Finds Drug Courts Ignore Science When it Comes to Opiate Substitution Therapies</a>. A small study of drug courts in New York state finds that their skeptical approach to opiate substitution therapies (OST), such as methadone and buprenorphine, can be a barrier to successful treatment. &quot;Many courts do not respect medical consensus on scientifically sound treatment standards. Some courts included OST as part of court-mandated treatment options, while others allowed OST for a court-defined period of time as a bridge to abstinence. Still others showed intolerance and even disdain for anything having to do with methadone and buprenorphine, or -- as with the drug court in Albany County -- refused outright to admit people on methadone or buprenorphine treatment,&quot; the authors wrote. &quot;Ordering people who are dependent on opioids to get off their prescribed methadone or buprenorphine medicines can force patients to seek out and become dependent on other opioids like prescription analgesics. Addiction to prescription opioids has been recognized as a priority problem by U.S. policy-makers, but drug courts may be exacerbating it.&quot;</p><p><strong>Search and Seizure</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20140115interior-border-checks-spur-suit.html" target="_blank">ACLU Sues Border Patrol Over Interior Border Check Point Searches</a>. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against the Border Patrol, claiming its agent routinely violate the constitutional rights of local residents by stopping and searching them at interior checkpoints on highways near the border. In a 1976 ruling, the US Supreme Court ruled that immigration checkpoints were permissible if the stops were brief, involved &quot;a limited enquiry into residence status,&quot; and a visual inspection of the exterior of the vehicle. &quot;But that&#39;s not what&#39;s happening here,&quot; said ACLU attorney James Duff Lyall in Tucson. He said the cases mentioned in the lawsuit provide strong indications that the Border Patrol is using the checkpoints for general crime control, &quot;which the courts have said is not acceptable for a checkpoint. The same thing is happening over and over again to many border residents,&quot; Lyall said. &quot;They&#39;re going on fishing expeditions where there&#39;s no reasonable suspicion.&quot;</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/01/15/14124/afghanistans-narcotics-problems-grow-worse" target="_blank">Afghan Drug Situation &quot;Dire,&quot; Federal Auditor Tells Senators</a>.&quot;The situation in Afghanistan is dire with little prospect for improvement in 2014 or beyond,&quot; Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko told the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control Wednesday. Poppy cultivation is at record levels and the drug trade now accounts for 15% of Afghan GDP, Sopko said.</p><p><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2014/01/16/US-vows-to-help-Afghanistan-with-narcotics-problem/UPI-32271389890614" target="_blank">US to Help Afghanistan With Drug Problem, State Department Official Tells Senators</a>. At the same hearing mentioned in the story above, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (&quot;drugs and thugs&quot;) William Brownfield vowed the US would remain committed to helping Afghanistan fight drug production and trafficking even after US and NATO troops pull out at the end of this year. &quot;We will continue to ensure our counternarcotics programs are well integrated with broader US efforts, including assistance programs aimed at supporting a vibrant legal economy,&quot; he testified Wednesday. &quot;The expanding cultivation and trafficking of drugs is one of the most significant factors putting the entire US and international donor investment in the reconstruction of Afghanistan at risk,&quot; he said.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jan/16/chronicle_am_january_16_2014#comments2014BorderCongressDEADrug CourtsDrug Trade Funding TerroristsExecutive BranchHempHeroinMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaMethadone & Other Opiate MaintenanceNews BriefOpium ProductionOverdose PreventionPollingPublic OpinionSearch and SeizureState & Local LegislaturesWashington Initiative 502Thu, 16 Jan 2014 22:40:03 +0000psmith30630 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgPermitted Marijuana Party at Seattle Space Needle Marks Legalization Anniversaryhttp://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2013/dec/10/permitted_marijuana_party_seattl
<p>[image:1 align:right]King 5 News reported Friday that hundreds of people lit and smoked marijuana at a party under the famed landmark the Seattle Space Needle.</p><p><a href="http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2013/dec/10/permitted_marijuana_party_seattl" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2013/dec/10/permitted_marijuana_party_seattl#commentsMarijuanaMarijuana -- Personal UseState & Local GovernmentWashington Initiative 502Tue, 10 Dec 2013 20:02:10 +0000borden30550 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgMedical Marijuana Updatehttp://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/oct/30/medical_marijuana_update
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<p>A Michigan couple get their child back, New Jersey gets its second dispensary, and Washington regulators get an earful over moves to do away with patient home grows under I-502 legalization. And much, much more. Let&#39;s get to it:</p><p>[image:1 align:right]<strong>Arizona</strong></p><p>Last Tuesday, <a href="http://www.hightimes.com/read/arizona-medical-marijuana-okay-during-probation" target="_blank">a judge allowed a medical marijuana patient to continue to use while on probation</a>, even though her plea agreement strictly forbade it. The county attorney in the case had added a blanket condition to plea agreements prohibiting offenders from using marijuana regardless of whether they hold medical marijuana cards, but the woman&#39;s attorneys argued that the clause violated state law and that prosecutors could not legally prohibit probationers from using medical marijuana. The judge agreed. The county prosecutor is expected to appeal.</p><p>On Tuesday, <a href="http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2013/10/advocates-doctors-urge-state-to-add-ptsd-to-medical-marijuana-treatment/" target="_blank">advocates and doctors urged the state to add PTSD as a condition treatable with medical marijuana</a>. The occasion was a public hearing at the Arizona Department of Health Services. The state currently allows marijuana for eight specified medical conditions. The department will make its decision by January.</p><p>Also on Tuesday, <a href="http://azmarijuana.com/arizona-medical-marijuana-news/lawsuit-establish-marijuana-extracts-law-arizona" target="_blank">the ACLU of Arizona filed a lawsuit</a> requesting that the courts officially rule that extracts are covered under the state&#39;s medical marijuana law. The suit was filed in a bid to protect the parents of a 5-year-old boy suffering from epilepsy from criminal prosecution for treating him with marijuana-derived oil. Extracts are currently in a legal gray area in Arizona, where police and some prosecutors say they are illegal and the Department of Health Services is still &quot;developing guidance to clarify these issues,&quot; even though that guidance was supposed to be completed this month.</p><p><strong>California</strong></p><p>On October 16, <a href="http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/news/ci_24324055/more-pot-records-released-federal-grand-jury" target="_blank">Mendocino County announced it had released more records to the federal government</a> related to the former marijuana grow permitting program that allowed growers to have up to 99 plants per parcel. The county was responding to a second set of federal subpoenas, this one for a &quot;limited number&quot; of records concerning the program. An earlier subpoena was much broader, but was fought by the county. The county and the feds reached an agreement in April to release some records, but with the names of participants redacted.</p><p>Also on October 16, <a href="http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/selma_enterprise/news/council-bans-pot-dispensaries-allows-limited-cultivation/article_50dfa300-35e9-11e3-b284-001a4bcf887a.html" target="_blank">the Selma city council banned dispensaries</a> and imposed tight restrictions on medical marijuana grows. The Fresno County community will require growers to register, get building permits, and stay 1,500 from sensitive uses, and no outdoor grows are allowed. The new ordinance is a slight improvement on a 2010 ordinance that banned all medical marijuana uses in the city.</p><p>Also on October 16, <a href="http://www.safeaccessnow.org/doj_abandons_some_but_not_all_medical_marijuana_forfeiture_cases_in_california" target="_blank">word came that the Justice Department has abandoned some asset forfeiture proceedings</a> against medical marijuana landlords. The US Attorney for the Central District of California, Andre Birotte, dropped at least four cases in October. But other US Attorneys in the state continue to pursue asset forfeiture cases, including pending cases against landlords for Harborside Health Center and the Berkeley Patients Groups.</p><p>On October 17, <a href="http://www.dailybulletin.com/government-and-politics/20131017/jurors-find-in-favor-of-marijuana-activist-swerdlow-in-chabot-civil-trial" target="_blank">medical marijuana activist Lanny Swerdlow prevailed in a civil trial</a> against anti-drug crusader Paul Chabot. Swerdlow had alleged false arrest and malicious prosecution after a 2007 incident at a Rancho Cucamonga meeting. The jury found for the false arrest, but not the malicious prosecution, and awarded Swerdlow $5,000 for past losses. They will meet again to determine punitive damages.</p><p>On October 18, <a href="http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24344182/former-dispensary-sues-vallejo-over-pot-raid" target="_blank">the owners of a former Vallejo dispensary filed suit against the city</a> alleging abuse of power, excessive force, and retaliation after it was raided by police last year. Daniel and Rhonda Chadwick, owners of Homegrown Holistic Cooperative, Inc., claim the city retaliated against them after Daniel Chadwick spoke out at a contentious city council meeting after a series of dispensary raids. Police in Vallejo raided at least six dispensaries there in 2012 even though the city had voted the year before to tax dispensaries -- not shut them down. All of those cases fell apart, but the damage had been done.</p><p><strong>Connecticut</strong></p><p>On October 17, <a href="http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Moratorium-OK-d-on-medical-marijuana-sales-4906210.php" target="_blank">the Westport planning and zoning commission approved a moratorium on dispensaries and producers</a>. The moratorium would last for a year, while the community has a chance to wrap its head around &quot;the newness&quot; of recently issued state regulations.</p><p>On Monday, <a href="http://farmington.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/farmington-adopts-medical-marijuana-moratorium-farmington" target="_blank">the Farmington planning and zoning commission passed a six-month moratorium on medical marijuana facilities</a>. The commission wants town staff to have adequate time to research the new state regulations.</p><p><strong>Delaware</strong></p><p>On October 22, <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131023/NEWS02/310230040/Markell-s-pot-plan-hit" target="_blank">the Marijuana Policy Project criticized Gov. Markell&#39;s dispensary plan</a>. State law calls for three dispensaries, but Markell had delayed opening any dispensaries for the last two years after receiving a threat letter from federal prosecutors. Markell has now moved forward, but said he will support opening only one dispensary next year.</p><p><strong>Florida</strong></p><p>Last Thursday, <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/attorney-general-pam-bondi-sends-medical-marijuana-amendment-to-state/2148957" target="_blank">state Attorney General Pam Bondi challenged a proposed ballot initiative for a medical marijuana constitutional amendment</a>. The attorney general is required by state law to send initiatives to the state Supreme Court for review, but Bondi also attacked the initiative, saying if it passed, &quot;Florida law would allow marijuana in limitless situations&quot; and warning that it conflicted with federal law. The court will hear arguments on December 5.</p><p><strong>Guam</strong></p><p>Last Friday, <a href="http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=39006" target="_blank">Sen. Tina Muna-Barnes filed a medical marijuana bill</a>. The bill would require that all medical marijuana come from Guam itself. Last month, Muna-Barnes introduced a resolution to decriminalize marijuana for medical purposes that won broad support at a public hearing.</p><p>On Sunday, <a href="http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=39025" target="_blank">the Guam Medical Association complained it hadn&#39;t been consulted</a>. The association didn&#39;t take a position for or against, but said it thought it should.</p><p><strong>Massachusetts</strong></p><p>On October 16, <a href="http://www.telegram.com/article/20131016/NEWS/310169584/" target="_blank">a Bolton town meeting decided to approve a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations</a>. The moratorium would prevent such facilities until June 30, 2014.</p><p>Last Wednesday, <a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/saugus/newsnow/x529842759/UPDATE-Temporary-moratorium-approved-for-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-in-Saugus" target="_blank">a Saugus town meeting voted to approve a moratorium on dispensaries</a>. The moratorium will stay in effect until September 30, 2014, or until local zoning bylaws are adopted.</p><p>On Monday, <a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/wareham/news/x1745250683/Voters-accept-marijuana-regulations" target="_blank">Wareham voters approved a zoning law that allows medical marijuana treatment centers</a>. The law replaces a temporary moratorium on such businesses that was voted in at the spring town meeting. The centers will be allowed in an &quot;institutional district.&quot;</p><p>On Tuesday, <a href="http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/features/x915438129/Framingham-to-vet-proposals-for-medical-marijuana-center" target="_blank">Framingham selectmen gave the go-ahead for staff to take dispensary applications</a>.There are at least a dozen proposals pending for dispensaries or grow operations in the city. A Special Town Meeting last week rejected a zoning bylaw and proposed overlay district that would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries and growing facilities. The town is developing a ranking system to rate applicants.</p><p><strong>Michigan</strong></p><p>Last Friday, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/10/28/2843271/michigan-judge-orders-baby-returned-parents-legally-medically-marijuana/" target="_blank">an Ingham County judge ordered an infant child returned to her medical marijuana using parents</a>. Steve and Maria Green&#39;s daughter Bree had been removed by Child Protective Services last month, but the judge found no evidence of abuse or neglect. The parents agreed not to medicate around their children, but said that&#39;s how they&#39;ve handled things all along.</p><p><strong>New Jersey</strong></p><p>On Monday, <a href="http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/eht/medical-marijuana-dispensary-opens-in-egg-harbor-township/article_731c5e86-3f80-11e3-b888-0019bb2963f4.html" target="_blank">the state&#39;s second medical marijuana dispensary opened</a>. The Compassionate Care Foundation opened in Egg Harbor, making it the first in South Jersey. The state legalized medical marijuana in 2010, but the Christie administration has made the roll-out excruciatingly slow. Now, though, things are starting to roll. A third dispensary is slated to open in a couple of weeks in Woodbridge Township, and the state Department of Health is in licensing talks with three other facilities.</p><p><strong>North Dakota</strong></p><p>Last Tuesday, <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Medical-marijuana-case-headed-to-ND-Supreme-Court-4915929.php" target="_blank">two Dickinson residents entered conditional guilty pleas to marijuana possession</a>, enabling them to appeal to the state Supreme Court that their out-of-state medical marijuana guards should have allowed them to possess marijuana in North Dakota. Their lawyers will argue that the medical marijuana recommendations should be a valid defense.</p><p><strong>Oregon</strong></p><p>Last Friday, <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/committee_drafting_medical_mar.html" target="_blank">the panel charged with crafting rules for dispensaries met again</a>. The legislature this year passed a bill to regulate the medical marijuana system statewide, and this was the panel&#39;s second meeting. It is expected to finish its work by December 1.</p><p><strong>Virginia</strong></p><p>Last Tuesday, <a href="http://umwbullet.com/2013/10/23/survey-reveals-high-support-for-medical-marijuana-in-va/" target="_blank">a poll found support for medical marijuana at 71%</a>. The state has taken no action to approve the medical use of the plant, but perhaps some legislators will take heed.</p><p><strong>Washington</strong></p><p>On Sunday, <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/marijuana/2013/10/28/senator-fight-for-homegrown-medical-marijuana-not-over-in-washington" target="_blank">Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles warned that the battle for homegrown medical marijuana is not over</a>. State agencies charged with implementing marijuana legalization under the I-502 initiative have proposed eliminating patient grows under the state&#39;s medical marijuana program, but that effort has ignited a firestorm of criticism from patients. Now, they have at least one prominent supporter in the legislature.</p><p><strong>Wisconsin</strong></p><p>Last Tuesday, <a href="http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2013/10/wisconsin_medical_marijuana_bill_introduced_would.php" target="_blank">18 legislators cosponsored a medical marijuana bill</a>. The bill, Senate Bill 363, would allow for dispensaries and home cultivation. Patients or caregivers could grow up to 12 plants and possess up to three ounces at a time. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Republican Senator Leah Vukmir, but has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing.</p><p><em>[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit <a href="http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org" target="_blank">MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org</a>.]</em></p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/oct/30/medical_marijuana_update#comments2014Executive BranchMarijuana IndustryMedical MarijuanaNews BriefState & Local Executive BranchesState & Local LegislaturesState CourtsWashington Initiative 502Thu, 31 Oct 2013 03:59:16 +0000psmith30457 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgWashington Medical Marijuana Recommendations Draw Oppositionhttp://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/oct/23/washington_medical_marijuana_rec
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<p>The three state agencies and the governor&#39;s office that constitute the state&#39;s medical marijuana working group on Monday released their <a href="https://lcb.app.box.com/draft-recommendations" target="_blank">draft recommendations</a> for dealing with medical marijuana in the era of legal marijuana possession and state-licensed marijuana stores under the I-502 initiative. Their recommendations would essentially gut the existing medical marijuana system, and patients and advocates are crying foul.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]The recommendations from the State Liquor Control Board (which is in charge of implementing the I-502 regime), the Department of Health, and the Department of Revenue would allow state-registered patients to purchase tax-exempt marijuana from the 334 stores envisioned under I-502, but would also reduce the amount patients could possess from 24 ounces to three ounces, require doctors to register patients with the state, remove the affirmative defense for medical marijuana patients, and end the right to petition for new medical conditions to be added.</p><p>The recommendations also call for eliminating the right of patients to grow their own, either individually or collectively, require existing dispensaries to comply with I-502 regulations, and force out of business those that can&#39;t. That would bring the state&#39;s medical marijuana system in line with I-502&#39;s no home grow provision.</p><p>While I-502 only envisions legalizing marijuana for adults 21 and over, the recommendations would allow 18-to-20-year-olds to use medical marijuana, but patients under the age of 18 would only be allowed to use it with parental consent and could only possess one dose at a time.</p><p>The state agencies will make their final recommendations by January 1, when they must send a final report to the state legislature, but in the meantime, they are taking for public comment between now and November 8. They can expect to get an earful from an angry medical marijuana community.</p><p>&quot;Washington was one of the first states in the nation to recognize that patients under a physician&#39;s care have the right to use medical marijuana,&quot; said Steph Sherer, executive director of <a href="http://www.safeaccessnow.org">Americans for Safe Access</a> (ASA). &quot;The needs of this vulnerable population are distinctly different from the wants of recreational users and it&#39;s vital that elected officials understand the difference.&quot;</p><p>ASA, which worked with local activists to create the <a href="http://www.healthbeforehappyhour.org/" target="_blank">Health Before Happy Hour</a> campaign to try to ensure that medical marijuana patients don&#39;t get run over by the legalization bus, is also holding a series of stakeholder meeting to mobilize the community and protect what it views as its hard-won rights. Those meetings will be held between October 27 and 30 in Bellingham, Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, and Yakima.</p><p>ASA created that campaign in part because of ominous portents coming from state officials and other key players. In May, Liquor Control Board spokesman Brian Smith warned that competition from the medical marijuana market will pose &quot;<a href="http://medcitynews.com/2013/05/washington-state-worries-no-tax-medical-marijuana-could-hurt-recreational-market/" target="_blank">a challenge</a>&quot; to the viability of the state&#39;s new recreational program, while state Rep. Chris Hurst (D-Enumclaw), chairman of the House Government Oversight and Accountability Committee, more recently <a href="http://medcitynews.com/2013/05/washington-state-worries-no-tax-medical-marijuana-could-hurt-recreational-market/" target="_blank">called the medical marijuana industry &quot;a sham,&quot;</a> and urged the task force to recommend that all of the state&#39;s dispensaries be shut down.</p><p>Then, Mitch Barker of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs chimed in to claim that &quot;<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/07/medical-marijuana-popularity-threatens-legal-pot-push/" target="_blank">the two (laws) are not going to be able to exist side by side for very long</a>.&quot; As if that weren&#39;t enough, the DEA continues to raid dispensaries, and US Attorneys continue to menace patients and providers. US Attorney Jenny Durkan qualified the state&#39;s medical marijuana system as &quot;<a href="http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/apexchange/2013/08/29/wa--legalizing-marijuana-wash.html" target="_blank">untenable</a>,&quot; and vowed to shut down the dispensaries.</p><p>&quot;We are living with HIV/AIDS, end-stage cancers, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and other serious, often painful and debilitating diseases,&quot; said Paul Feldman, who experiences relief with the help of medical marijuana. &quot;It is wholly inappropriate to force us to get our medicine from anything resembling a liquor store and equally unacceptable to make patients pay an excise tax,&quot; continued Feldman. &quot;No other medication is taxed this way and cannabis shouldn&#39;t be either.&quot;</p><p>Instead of gutting the medical marijuana program, the Health Before Happy Hour campaign is calling for a system of state-licensed and regulated dispensaries outside the scope of I-502. The campaign is supporting legislation similar to Senate Bill 5073, the proposal previously sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle) which was partially vetoed in 2011 by then-Governor Christine Gregoire (D).</p><p><em>[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit <a href="http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org" target="_blank">MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org</a>.]</em></p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/oct/23/washington_medical_marijuana_rec#commentsMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefTax and RegulateWashington Initiative 502Thu, 24 Oct 2013 02:54:18 +0000psmith30448 at http://stopthedrugwar.org"Defelonization"--The Next Step in Winding Down the Drug War [FEATURE]http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/oct/02/defelonization_next_step
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<p>Thirteen states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have already passed laws making simple drug possession a misdemeanor instead of a felony, and the momentum appears to be growing. A bill in California to do something similar has passed the legislature and is currently sitting on the governor&#39;s desk, and efforts are afoot to push a defelonization measure through the Washington legislature next year.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]Such measures are designed to ease prison overcrowding, ease pressures on budgets, and help drug users by avoiding saddling them with felony convictions. They also reflect increasing frustration with decades of drug prohibition efforts that have failed to stop drug use, but have resulted in all sorts of collateral costs.</p><p>In California alone, even after Gov. Jerry Brown&#39;s (D) prison realignment scheme, more than 4,000 people remain in state prisons on simple drug possession charges. At <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/laomenus/sections/crim_justice/6_cj_inmatecost.aspx" target="_blank">$47,000 per inmate per year</a>, that comes out to more than a $200 million annual bill to state taxpayers.</p><p>Under current California law, people convicted of a drug possession felony can be sentenced to up to three years in prison. More than 10,000 people are charged with drug possession felonies each year, although many of them receive probation if convicted.</p><p>California state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) moved to redress that situation with <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0601-0650/sb_649_bill_20130912_enrolled.pdf" target="_blank">Senate Bill 649</a>, which passed the legislature on the final day of the session. The bill is not a defelonization bill <em>per se</em>; instead, it makes drug possession a &quot;wobbler,&quot; meaning it provides prosecutors with the flexibility to charge drug possession as either a felony or a misdemeanor.</p><p>&quot;Our system is broken,&quot; said Lynne Lyman, California state director for the <a href="http://www.drugpolicy.org" target="_blank">Drug Policy Alliance</a>, which supported the bill. &quot;Felony sentences don&#39;t reduce drug use and don&#39;t persuade users to seek treatment, but instead, impose tremendous barriers to housing, education and employment after release -- three things we know help keep people out of our criminal justice system and successfully reintegrating into their families and communities.&quot;</p><p>Even Republicans got on board with the bill, helping to get it through the Assembly earlier this year.</p><p>[image:2 align:right caption:true]&quot;I am proud that we got bipartisan support in the Assembly,&quot; Leno told the Chronicle.</p><p>The bill currently awaits Gov. Brown&#39;s signature, and although his signature is not required for it to become law, Leno said he believed the governor would act on it, and he urged supporters to let the governor know now that they want him to sign it.</p><p>&quot;Anyone can go to the <a href="http://www.gov.ca.gov/" target="_blank">governor&#39;s web site</a> and offer support through an email communication,&quot; Leno said. &quot;I am always hopeful he will sign it.&quot;</p><p>While Californians wait for the governor to act (or not), activists and legislators in Washington are gearing up to place a defelonization bill before the legislature there next year. <a href="http://www.sensiblewashington.org/" target="_blank">Sensible Washington</a>, the activist group behind the effort, says it has lined up legislative sponsors for the bill and will pre-file in December for next year&#39;s legislative session.</p><p>State Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo) will be the primary sponsor of this proposal in the House. Reps. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Burien), Jim Moeller (D-Vancouver), Jessyn Farrell (D-Seattle), and Chris Reykdal (D-Tumwater) have all signed on as official cosponsors, with more to be announced soon. Sensible Washington hopes to have a companion bill filed simultaneously in the Senate.</p><p>Under current Washington law, the possession of any controlled substance (or over 40 grams of cannabis) is an automatic felony. Under this new proposal, the possession of a controlled substance -- when not intended for distribution -- would be reduced from a felony charge, to a misdemeanor (carrying a maximum sentence of 90 days, rather than five years). Laws regarding minors would not be affected.</p><p>&quot;Removing felony charges for simple drug possession is a smart, pragmatic approach to reducing some of the harms associated with the war on drugs,&quot; said Anthony Martinelli, Sensible Washington&#39;s communications director. &quot;The goal is to stop labeling people as felons, filling up our prisons and ruining their lives in the process, for possessing a small amount of an illegal substance.&quot;</p><p>He elaborated in a Tuesday interview with the Chronicle.</p><p>&quot;We support full decriminalization, like the Portuguese model, but defelonization is a big step forward, and we feel that the public and lawmakers are ready for it,&quot; he said. &quot;We have to find a way to deal with the dangers of the war on drugs. Another reason is the massive disparity in our cannabis law -- an ounce is legal, but an ounce and a half is a felony. This would remove felonies for cannabis possession, but we don&#39;t think anyone should be hit over the head with a felony for personal drug possession.&quot;</p><p>Martinelli said Sensible Washington and its allies would be spending the next few months preparing to push the bill through the legislature.</p><p>&quot;We will be building public and legislative support, continuing to work on garnering media attention, activating our base, and getting more lawmakers on board,&quot; he said. &quot;We&#39;re really trying to form a bipartisan coalition and get other organizations involved as well.&quot;</p><p>One of those groups is the <a href="http://www.aclu-wa.org">ACLU of Washington</a>. Sensible Washington and the ACLU of Washington were bitter foes in the fight over the state&#39;s successful I-502 marijuana legalization initiative -- Sensible Washington opposed it as a half-measure that endangered medical marijuana, a claim that ACLU and other advocates contested -- but appear to be on the same page when it comes to this sentencing reform.</p><p>&quot;We support the decriminalization of drug use&quot;, said Alison Holcomb, criminal justice project director for the ACLU of Washington. &quot;We&#39;re looking forward to working in collaboration with Sensible and its allies to achieve that goal.&quot;</p><p>Martinelli said he could now announce that the proposed bill has picked up its first Senate sponsor, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D), to add to its growing list of House sponsors. Missing from that list of House sponsors is one of the most prominent drug reformers in the House, Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland), the chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, but that&#39;s not because he opposes the idea, Goodman told the Chronicle Tuesday.</p><p>&quot;As chair of the committee, it&#39;s important for me to be an honest broker to get legislation through,&quot; Goodman explained. &quot;My position as chair is weakened if there is a potentially controversial issue and I&#39;m seen as being on one side of it. It&#39;s not that I oppose it, and I certainly will hold a hearing on it and move it, but my role is more to facilitate negotiations on provisions of the bill without being an interested party,&quot; he said.</p><p>It is an idea that is certainly worth pursuing, he said.</p><p>&quot;We need to reprioritize. The tough penalties we impose on people for merely possessing drugs is so arbitrary compared to the penalties for other offenses where there is direct physical harm perpetrated against others,&quot; Goodman said. &quot;And by now, we all acknowledge that drug possession is not merely an indiscretion, but might be linked to behavioral health issues. Our approach should be to facilitate therapeutic interventions. We have deferred prosecution programs already, but only for alcohol. Those arrested for drug possession are not eligible because it&#39;s a felony. If we could make deferred prosecution available for drug cases, we could make much more headway on the problem,&quot; he said.</p><p>And doing so would only codify what is already often existing practices, he said.</p><p>&quot;Many or most courts and prosecutors are already pleading down felony drug cases to misdemeanors because of budget constraints and space limitations in the jails,&quot; Goodman noted. &quot;We can change the law to conform with that practice without an additional threat to public safety. Beyond that, we could remove the prejudicial effect of a felony conviction when it is so evident they hinder people from reintegrating into the community.&quot;</p><p>While Sensible Washington and its allies are moving full steam ahead, passing the bill could be a multi-year effort, Goodman warned.</p><p>&quot;I anticipate prosecutors saying that if we set a certain possession threshold, drug dealers will make sure they possess no more than that amount and will play the system,&quot; he said. &quot;We have to figure out a way to find a threshold or divide possession cases into degrees. I hear the concern, but I&#39;m not sure what the solution is. But this is a next important phase of drug policy reform: cranking down the drug war yet one more notch and doing what&#39;s rational and fiscally responsible.&quot;</p><p>There is lots of work to be done, Goodman said.</p><p>&quot;We&#39;ll see how this plays out in the legislature. It&#39;s probably going to need more lobbying and more background discussion among more legislators,&quot; he predicted. &quot;So far, it&#39;s not a real prominent topic, so it might end up being a work in progress. But who knows? It might catch on fire, and we&#39;ll get a quick consensus.&quot;</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/oct/02/defelonization_next_step#commentsDefelonizationNews FeatureState & Local Executive BranchesState & Local LegislaturesWashington Initiative 502Wed, 02 Oct 2013 22:50:01 +0000psmith30415 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgMoving Toward Legal Marijuana Commerce in Washington State [FEATURE]http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/jun/12/moving_toward_legal_marijuana_co
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<p>Voters approved the marijuana legalization initiative I-502 in Washington state last November, and it is now legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, but a full-blown marijuana commerce industry doesn&#39;t just happen overnight. The state is still months away from having a functioning system of state-taxed and -regulated marijuana cultivators, processors, and retailers, but the process is well underway, and by most accounts, it is going relatively smoothly.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]Last month, the Washington Liquor Control Board (LCB), the state agency charged with setting up the state&#39;s marijuana industry, issued its <a href="https://lcb.box.com/initial-draft-rules" target="_blank">initial draft rules</a>. It took written comments on the initial draft rules through Monday and will issue revised draft rules later this month. The LCB will hold public hearings on the rules for all three envisaged licenses -- grower, processor, and retailer -- in late July, promulgate final rules in August, begin accepting license applications in September, and begin issuing licenses in December.</p><p>From then, it is still likely to be months before the first legal marijuana is sold in Washington because only once growers are licensed will legal marijuana destined for retail sale be in the pipeline. It takes a minimum of three months to bring an indoor crop to harvest. But by sometime next spring, consumers should be able to go to their local pot shop and make their selections.</p><p>&quot;These initial rules balance our goal of developing a tightly regulated system with reasonable access for small and large business models to participate within the system,&quot; said Board Chair Sharon Foster. &quot;They are based upon hundreds of hours of internal research and deliberation, consultation with multiple industry experts and input from the over 3,000 individuals who attended our forums statewide.&quot;</p><p>The initial draft rules reflect the Board&#39;s stated goal of developing a tightly regulated and controlled recreational marijuana market. Included in the rules are elements that address out-of-state diversion of product, traceability of product from start to sale, youth access and other public and consumer safety concerns.</p><p>Here are some of the key elements in the initial draft rules:&nbsp;</p><p><strong>License Requirements</strong></p><ul><li>Application Window -- The application window would open for 30 days for all license types and be extended or reopened at the Board&#39;s discretion. This approach was similar to how Colorado opened its medical marijuana system.</li><li>Background Checks -- License applicants and financiers would be required to submit a form attesting to their criminal history, provide fingerprints, and allow criminal background checks.&nbsp;</li><li>Point System -- The WSLCB would employ a disqualifying criminal history point system similar to liquor. An exception would be allowed for two misdemeanor convictions of possession within three years.</li></ul><p><strong>Public Safety</strong></p><ul><li>Producer Structures -- Producer operations would be allowed in both secure indoor grows or greenhouses.</li><li>Traceability -- A robust and comprehensive traceability software system will trace product from start to sale.</li><li>Violation Guidelines -- In addition to the $1,000 fine for certain violations established by I-502, the initial draft rules also include a strict tiered system of violation penalties over a three year period (similar to the current standard penalty guidelines for liquor).</li><li>Security -- The rules direct strict on-site surveillance systems similar to Colorado&#39;s current system. &nbsp;</li><li>Advertising Restrictions -- I-502 restricts advertising within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, transit centers, arcades, and other areas where children are present. The draft rules further restrict advertising as they pertain to children.</li></ul><p><strong>Consumer Safety</strong></p><ul><li>Behind the Counter Storage -- No open containers allowed. &nbsp;</li><li>Package and Label Requirements -- Consumers will know contents and potency of products they purchase.</li><li>Defined Serving Size -- Serving sizes equal 10 mg of THC. Products are limited to 100 mg.</li><li>Lab Tested -- Uniform testing standards by independent accredited labs.</li></ul><p>With the release of the initial draft rules, the period for written comment opened up. <a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/05/17/washington-plans-hash-ban-i-502-draft-rules-bar-concentrates/" target="_blank">One of the first analyses</a>&nbsp;-- not a formal comment -- came from the Henry Wykowski law firm, a San Francisco marijuana law practice that recently opened a Seattle office. Drafted by Wykowski attorney Rachel Kurtz, a longtime player in the Seattle marijuana reform scene, the analysis shined a light on some of what could be described as the rules&#39; downsides.</p><p>&quot;Hash will not be allowed for sale at the retail stores,&quot; the analysis noted. &quot;According to the draft rules WAC 314-55-079, &#39;marijuana extracts,&#39; such as, hash, hash oil, shatter, and wax can be infused in products sold in a marijuana retail store, but RCW 69.50.354 does not allow the sale of extracts that are not infused in products. A marijuana extract does not meet the definition of a marijuana-infused product per RCW 69.50.101.&quot;</p><p>The Wykowski analysis also warned that &quot;fingerprinting will be required and sent to the FBI for anyone with an interest in the business being licensed, including financiers.&quot; That means anyone seeking a marijuana license is potentially incriminating oneself to the federal government, which continues to consider marijuana an illegal substance, even in states that have legalized it.</p><p>After Monday&#39;s deadline for comments passed, the LCB reported that while initial comments on the rules were relatively light, the agency received extensive written comment over the final weekend and throughout Monday from public and private organizations.</p><p>&quot;In keeping with our goal of an open and transparent process for drafting the rules, we&rsquo;re going to take an additional two weeks to consider the last-minute input we&rsquo;ve received,&quot; said LCB Director Rick Garza. &quot;The Board was prepared to issue the rules on June 19. However, it&#39;s our responsibility to carefully review and consider the comments we received.&quot;</p><p>Among those commenting were <a href="http://wanorml.org/" target="_blank">Washington NORML</a>, the <a href="http://washingtoncannabisassociation.org/" target="_blank">Washington Cannabis Association</a>, <a href="LCB%20MJRules%20SeattleComments%20June%2010,2013%5b1%5d" target="_blank">Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes</a>, organizations with concerns about impacts on minorities, and <a href="http://www.aclu-wa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2013-06-10%20-%20I-502%20Initial%20Draft%20Rule%20Comments%20-%20FINAL%20%28Kevin%29.pdf" target="_blank">organizations with concerns about prevention, treatment, and public health</a>, both led by the <a href="http://www.aclu-wa.org/" target="_blank">ACLU of Washington</a>, whose Alison Holcomb took a leave of absence to lead the I-502 campaign to victory. The comments revealed a variety of interests -- some conflicting -- and concerns from various stakeholders in the issue.</p><p>The prevention, treatment, and public health groups called for tighter restrictions on packaging, labeling, and advertising, shorter hours for retail outlets, and getting rid of the logo that features a marijuana leaf centered over an outline of the state, while the minority groups called on the LCB to ensure that their communities did not become dumping grounds for marijuana retail outlets.</p><p>&quot;Initiative 502 was designed to achieve better health and safety outcomes for our families and communities than marijuana prohibition has,&quot; said Holcomb. &quot;It was not intended to &#39;mint marijuana millionaires&#39; who prioritize profits over public health. The goal is to improve upon our experiences with alcohol and tobacco, not repeat them.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We supported I-502 because we were very concerned about the disproportionate enforcement of marijuana possession on African-Americans and communities of color,&quot; said Jon Gould, deputy director of the <a href="http://www.childrensalliance.org/" target="_blank">Children&#39;s Alliance</a>, which signed onto the public health comments. &quot;Prohibition hasn&#39;t worked, and it has had damaging effects on children and families. We think regulation would be better.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The Board needs to remember that it is setting a standard for marijuana regulation,&quot; said University of Washington professor Roger Roffman, who also signed on to the public health comments. &quot;We have a unique opportunity to create a system that discourages glamorization of marijuana use and encourages respect for the public&#39;s health and wellbeing. Let&#39;s not waste it.&quot;</p><p>While the public health and minority communities were concerned with restraining the marijuana marketplace, other constituencies had other concerns.</p><p>&quot;Most of our constituents are small growers with a hundred plants or less. We argued that when it comes to growing, priority should be given to individuals who are willing to have a garden of 99 plants or less,&quot; said Kevin Oliver, executive director of Washington NORML.</p><p>&quot;Our constituency includes two separate US Attorney districts that have disparate levels of enforcement activity. If the US Attorney&#39;s Office in the Eastern District gets wind of any marijuana operations, they shut them down. They&#39;re discussing zoning for grows the size of a football field in Seattle, and good for them, but that won&#39;t fly in eastern Washington. If they ignore the little guy, that&#39;s going to cut out anybody in eastern Washington, that&#39;s why we want them to prioritize for small growers under 99 plants.&quot;</p><p>The 99 plants number is based on federal mandatory minimum sentences that kick in at 100 plants, but is also based on the observation that federal prosecutors are unlikely to go after grows that small when there are bigger fish to fry -- and bigger punishments to hand out.</p><p>&quot;Our concerns were very similar to most everyone else who was frustrated with the board&#39;s definition of what can be sold at retail and it&#39;s not allowing extracts like hash oil,&quot; said Kurtz, who worked with the Washington Cannabis Association in crafting its comments. &quot;Nobody is happy about that. There are a lot of business people who were counting on that for their business model. The whole purpose of the initiative was to get rid of a black market, but by not allowing that retail, a black market will remain. We might as well actually regulate because it&#39;s going to happen regardless, but they don&#39;t seem very keen to change,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;The draft regs also don&#39;t allow for outdoor grows, but I have some hope they will change that,&quot; Kurtz added . &quot;They&#39;ve heard back from a lot of people about the need for outdoor grows, including Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. Forcing everyone indoors increases energy consumption, and growing outdoors is less expensive.&quot;</p><p>On the upside, the LCB seems to be crafting reasonable regulations for out of state visitors and for preventing diversion, although diversion probably won&#39;t be a big issue, Kurtz said.</p><p>&quot;This doesn&#39;t limit out of state people at all,&quot; Kurtz explained. &quot;You can buy an ounce at a time, which is the limit of what you can legally possess.&quot;</p><p>There is no integrated system to track purchasers, so out-of-staters could theoretically go from retail outlet to retail outlet, building their stashes an ounce at a time, but that doesn&#39;t mean there will be an issue with diversion to other states, Kurtz argued.</p><p>&quot;Economically, it just doesn&#39;t make sense,&quot; she said. &quot;If someone from North Dakota wants to sell pot there, they could come here, but they would be paying full retail and having to go to a bunch of stores, and they wouldn&#39;t have much of a profit margin paying retail. Or they could just grow some in their basement in North Dakota.&quot;</p><p>A larger issue is diversion from cultivation sites, but Kurtz argued that a combination of security and grower self-interest should limit that.</p><p>&quot;There is going to be a lot of recordkeeping, an electronic system where growers will have to input data daily,&quot; she said. &quot;There are product quarantines, there are security cameras. But more importantly, people are preparing to invest a lot of money in this to have a legitimate business, not to divert pot to the black market. I&#39;ve been meeting a lot of people who I don&#39;t think would risk their licenses to sell to the black market.&quot;</p><p>Washington&#39;s legal, regulated marijuana commerce is still a work in progress, but stakeholders pronounced themselves generally satisfied with the process so far.</p><p>&quot;We are in completely new territory in terms of creating a legal marketplace and we&#39;re being very vigilant. It&#39;s too soon to tell whether this new environment is going to adequately protect youth and be an effective public health approach,&quot; said the Children Alliance&#39;s Gould.</p><p>&quot;This has been a good public process, with lots of transparency and broad engagement. They are doing a good job in terms of being open and transparent,&quot; he continued. &quot;What is also really apparent is the enormous amount of competition this has created, with industries and individuals looking at this as an opportunity for profit. There are choices that need to be made, and we and others are speaking up, saying we need to choose public health and kids over profiteering. If the WSLCB creates an environment based on policies designed to make this more profitable, that could have a detrimental impact on children, youth, and the public health.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We&#39;re getting there,&quot; said Kurtz. &quot;Eventually we will have a good system, but it may take a few years to figure itself out.&quot;</p><p>And so marijuana begins the transition from illegal drug to legal commodity in Washington state. That is, if the federal government allows it to happen. So far, the federal government has given little indication it&#39;s going to do much of anything about it, but that could change. Stay tuned.</p> </div>
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/jun/12/moving_toward_legal_marijuana_co#commentsMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationNews FeatureState & Local Executive BranchesWashington Initiative 502Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:42:25 +0000psmith30176 at http://stopthedrugwar.org